CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- On the very first play of his very first practice, Brad Kaaya nailed a 30-yard corner route to Braxton Berrios.

Not bad.

On the very next play of his very first practice, Kaaya dropped back and threw a touchdown pass to Rashawn Scott.

“Hey,” Kaaya said to himself. “I can do this.”

Whether the 18-year-old true freshman had any business winning the Miami starting job was beside the point now. With two quick plays, Kaaya was no longer intimidated, no longer doubting, no longer unsure.

He looked the part.

Brad Kaaya has natural talent as a passer, but he is adding leadership skills in his second year. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

His coaches, meanwhile, sat almost dumbfounded. Their eyes told them Kaaya could play. So did the numbers staring right back at them. During camp, offensive coaches keep stats in their own version of "Moneyball." Every completion is worth a point; third-down completions, touchdowns, 20-yard plays, red zone scores -- those are worth more. Sacks, interceptions -- any negative plays -- take points away.

After the third day of his very first week of practice, Kaaya had the lead.

"And we’re sitting here going, 'This guy’s a freshman,'" offensive coordinator James Coley recalled. "'This is crazy.' No, it’s not. He’s exactly what we thought he was."

Kaaya went on to start all 13 games, winning ACC Rookie of the Year honors after throwing for 3,198 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But his emergence was not enough to save Miami because being a talented quarterback is only part of the equation.

Now, Kaaya must learn how to lead.

Sounds simple in theory, but leadership is one of those intangibles that is sometimes tough to grasp. Some quarterbacks are born leaders. Others take time to grow and mature into that role, especially when they are asked to start the moment they arrive on campus.

The dynamic in the Miami locker room presented quite a challenge for a young quarterback.

Kaaya, Coley and coach Al Golden all freely admit that. In the quarterback room alone, Kaaya sat next to Jake Heaps, a graduate transfer with 25 career starts; and Ryan Williams, a married father who would have been the starter had he not torn his knee in the spring.

While nobody worked against Kaaya, he tended to take a back seat to the older players on the team. He was not even the leader on offense on the field. That role belonged to running back Duke Johnson.

“Last year, on Sept. 1, I can’t speak up and say anything because I haven’t played yet,” Kaaya said. “I’m 18, and there’s kids who are 23 and have kids and some are married. At that point, there was nothing I could say to motivate someone or get someone on a better track. Now, people realize who I am, and if I say something, it’s meant to help our team and people will listen to that and respond to that.”

What also hurt was the way Miami started the season, with tough road losses against Louisville and Nebraska.

“It’s hard to be the quarterback when you can’t be the leader,” Golden said. “That part of it was tough. He brought to the game confidence; he brought to the game talent. I don’t know if he ever brought to the game the leadership that he’s exhibiting now. He’s clearly very comfortable in his skin now.”

Kaaya has made a concerted effort to get to know teammates. He is more vocal in the huddle. He organizes player-led walk-throughs.

Kaaya, right, deferred to older teammates like Duke Johnson, left, last season when it came to leadership. AP Photo/Al Messerschmidt

“He has the right to talk now because of what he was able to accomplish,” running back Gus Edwards said. “He talks a lot more, and guys listen to him, too. The quarterback should always be a part of the leadership group, freshman or not. He understands that now. He’s building relationships with everybody on the team. Guys are starting to respect him more and want to play for him.”

With Johnson gone, Kaaya is the unquestioned focal point of the Miami offense. Not only will he have to become a better leader, he must make the players around him better. Especially since he is the only proven player Miami has this spring.

That is yet another challenge that must be addressed. Last year, Miami had the terrific offense quartet of Johnson, Kaaya, receiver Phillip Dorsett and tight end Clive Walford. Now, all the Canes have is Kaaya. Opposing coaches have a year of film to study and dissect to pinpoint all his weaknesses.

“I’m sure somewhere a defensive coordinator is breaking it down,” Kaaya said. “For us, it’s reinventing ourselves, coming up with new personnel packages. It can’t be all on me. I’m not always going to have good games, but in order to increase the number of good games I have, we have to keep coming up with new concepts, new packages.”

Kaaya is a quick study and has been since his high school days. What remains incredible is the way he ended up at Miami. No matter how many times Coley tells the recruiting story, he sounds a little incredulous himself.

Shortly after he left Florida State to become Miami offensive coordinator, Coley did a database search on a recruiting website looking for his type of quarterback. He typed in his ideal height and ideal passing system. Then he sat and watched tape after tape. Coley was sitting in an airport when he came across Kaaya, way down on the list.

“His film looks great,” Coley said. “I watched it again and was like, ‘What’s the catch? Why hasn’t he been offered by everybody?’ I’ve got the demon and the angel on my shoulders, and the angel’s saying, ‘Who cares who’s offered him! Do you like him? If you like him, offer him and be the first guy!’"

Coley sent Kaaya a Facebook message. Initially, Kaaya thought Florida State had reached out because Coley had not updated his profile picture. But once he read the note, Kaaya realized Miami had significant interest.

“He straight up offered me a week later,” Kaaya said. “He said, ‘You have an offer, just remember we were your first one.’ I gave it some time. I visited there. I took a few other unofficial visits, and during that time a lot of coaches said, ‘We love you but we have this five-star or this four-star we need as a national guy so I said, ‘You know what? Let me go where I’m welcome.’ I committed about a month after that.”

Shortly after he signed in February 2014, Coley sent Kaaya a stripped-down version of the Miami playbook so he would be able to walk right into offseason workouts when he arrived in May. Studying that very playbook helped Kaaya make those very first plays in his very first practice.

Those plays got him to where he is now. What he does in between all the plays -- that may end up defining Kaaya in 2015.