Lashlee: Future plans for Perry, Harris won’t be set until after bowl
A day after University of Miami quarterback D’Eriq King announced he would return to UM in 2021 instead of entering the NFL Draft, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was asked about the future status of redshirt junior backup quarterback N’Kosi Perry as well as junior running back Cam’Ron Harris.
Lashlee, who arrived with the team in Orlando on Sunday for final preparations before facing Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl, said he’s talked to all his players about their future.
Perry, who started several games in 2018 and 2019, only played in four games in 2020, completing seven of 13 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. He was a consensus four-star prospect when he came to UM from Ocala Vanguard.
“N’Kosi, first of all, he loves the University of Miami,” Lashlee said. “I think he’s set to graduate at end of the spring this year. For him, graduating from here would be a big deal for his family and him personally. Also, I know the way this year’s gone. N’Kosi’s a junior that would be going into his final season.
“But now, he’s actually got two years of eligibility left [because of the NCAA allowing an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic]. We just decided we were going to finish the season through Tuesday,” Lashlee said, noting that Perry was preparing, like with any other game, to play if needed.
“After Tuesday, we’ll talk, and one thing N’Kosi’s made clear is he loves the University of Miami. He wants to be here. He also wants to play, and he should. Coach [Manny]
Diaz and I both want what’s best for him. Like a lot of these conversations, I know it’s not a stall deal to say ‘after the game.’
“It’s simply guys want to focus on playing the game, and once the game is over, they feel the season is finally over and they have enough time to maybe take in all the information and options. Whatever that is for N’Kosi, we’ll support him, because we want what’s best for him.”
HARRIS SITUATION
Regarding Harris, the tailback posted Dec. 20 on Twitter: “January 1, 2021.......Decision Will Be Made.” Harris has had an up-and-down season.
“We’ve treated Cam like we have everybody else,”
Lashlee said. “At the end of the day we all want them to know we want them back if this is where they want to be. At the same time we want what’s best for each player. I think Coach Diaz has made that clear, gathers the information that we can get from the NFL and gives that information to our guys.
“Every situation is different and every kid is different. I don’t think just because you’re a running back you should say you should go [pro]. You should go when it’s the right time for you. Cam is no different. We want what’s best for Cam and if it’s a go, and this is the best time and the best opportunity for him, we’ll fully support him. And if he chooses to come back, we’ll fully support that, as well.”
Safety Bubba Bolden, a redshirt junior, spoke during the Zoom videoconference Sunday and said he has not made a decision yet about entering the NFL Draft or returning.
“I’ll probably talk it over with my family after this next game,” Bolden said, “but right now I’m just focused on this game.”
BAKER TALKS UNC
Hurricanes defensive coordinator Blake Baker spoke to the media for the first time since the 62-26 loss to North Carolina, when his players allowed a school-record 778 yards.
“The bottom line is we’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better,” Baker said. “When you really unpack it all, and obviously we’ve had a lot of time to do that with Coach Diaz and myself, you could attribute to a bunch of different things. But at the end of the day, those two things hold true. We have to coach better and we have to play better and we will do that moving forward.
“When you look at the overall body of work, we have to prove that this was an outlier, this was just a blip on the radar. I thought we played pretty good defense, and obviously if you can take that one game out from a statistical standpoint, you could probably say the same. But you can’t. And that’s something that we own.”