Canes Confident in Quarterbacks Ahead of ACC Opener
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The hot topic in Coral Gables this week is who will be the starting quarterback when the Miami Hurricanes welcome North Carolina to Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday.
Malik Rosier and N’Kosi Perry are the top two candidates to be under center for the No. 16 Hurricanes when they play in their ACC opener on ESPN this Thursday, but Miami head coach Mark Richt is letting all the quarterbacks compete in practice before making a decision on who will led the offense for the first series this week.
“You just have to line up and practice and compete,” Richt said. “That’s all you can do. A lot of times, the quarterback position is more settled than it is right this second. The very good news is we have some really competent guys that can play. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown echoed Richt’s desire to evaluate the practices rep-by-rep to help determine who should start against the Tar Heels. Regardless of who earns the starting nod Brown is confident it will go to “whoever gives us the best shot to be able to win.”
“We feel really good about having as much depth as we can at any position, including the quarterback spot for guys who can help us perform well,” Brown said. “The guys that practice the best will play and help us win.”
Both Rosier and Perry, as well as redshirt freshman Cade Weldon and freshman Jarren Williams, have competed every day in practice since the spring. All four quarterbacks have elevated their play because of the competitive environment they’re in and Brown believes that ultimately is best for all of them and for the Hurricanes.
“I say it all the time – I think competition solves most of your problems,” Brown said. “I think competition makes everyone better. No one guy at any spot should ever feel comfortable like, ‘it’s my job, no matter what happens.’ Obviously the more depth we have, the more guys that are prepared to play to help us win, the better we’ll be down the stretch.”
Rosier has a larger resume, appearing in 30 games over his career and helping lead the Canes to 10 wins and an Orange Bowl berth a year ago. Two weeks ago at Toledo, he also became thefirst Hurricane to score five touchdowns in a game since Brad Kaaya threw four touchdowns and rushed for a score against Pitt on Nov. 5, 2016.
Perry has a shorter resume, but was impressive in Miami’s 31-17 win over FIU on Saturday. The redshirt freshman finished the game completing a career-high 17-of-25 passes for a career-best 224 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He added 32 rushing yards on the ground.
Regardless of who is named the starter, Miami’s players are confident they will be able to help the Hurricanes win and win a lot.
“It’s a very big question,” offensive lineman Tyree St. Louis said. “Right now, we don’t really know who’s going to be the starting quarterback. We’re positive for both guys, no matter who it is. We’re going to rally behind them. Both guys can play and both guys are very experienced now. Whoever it is, we’re blocking for them.”
Rimington Trophy candidate Tyler Gauthier is comfortable snapping the ball to Rosier, Perry, Weldon or Williams. The senior center works with all of the Canes’ quarterbacks in practice and believes they will have good rapport when gametime comes.
“I work with everybody, we do center-quarterback changes before practice,” Gauthier said. “I work with everybody still, I’m used to the communication, I’m used to the cadences, I’m used to the way they call things, and there is not that much of a change.”
Rosier and Perry are the clear favorites in the competition and Dallas has been impressed with how they’ve approached the week of practice.
“They’re both are applying energy and execution to practice and that is what we need out of both of guys,” running back DeeJay Dallas said.
Richt, who is in his third season at Miami and 18thseason as a head coach, has been through many quarterback battles in his time leading a program. On Saturday, Perry entered the game for Miami’s third series and the Canes got hot on offense, so Richt rode the momentum for the majority of the game. The veteran head coach likes his two options and believes both are excellent choices to lead the Hurricanes’ offense.
“I’ve had times where I’m just not 100-percent sure,” Richt said of his quarterback situations throughout his career. “I’ve probably had more times where I’ve had the starter than the number twos were splitting time – a little bit more of that, not sure who [number] two was, probably. But again, I feel good because I know we got guys that can play. If we were scrambling around because everybody is struggling, that’s a problem. And like I said, Malik [Rosier] did nothing wrong. The young guys just kept maturing and getting better and got to the point where it was time to see what they can do. N’Kosi got that opportunity.”
The competition has been fierce, but also friendly. As the veteran, Rosier has helped mentor Perry, Weldon and Williams. All the quarterbacks push each other and celebrate one another’s success and that is a sign of depth and helthy competition that Brown likes to see.
“I think both of those guys have had really good attitudes,” Brown said of Rosier and Perry. “I think they’re both rooting for each other and celebrating with each other when guys have success. Obviously everybody wants to play, I don’t care what role you have – whether you’re a starter, second-string guy – those guys have done a really good job of coming together and helping each other out. Attitude has been good.”
