Rosier, ’Canes ready to kick off season
CORAL GABLES — If Malik Rosier has some butterflies when he takes the field this afternoon, it would be hard to fault him.
For three years, the redshirt junior has been largely on the sideline, watching as his former roommate and good friend Brad Kaaya led the Hurricanes offense and rewrote the Hurricanes record book.
After Kaaya — Miami’s all-time career passing leader — opted to bypass his senior year and enter the NFL draft, Rosier was plunged into an intense four-quarterback race to determine Miami’s next starter.
Two weeks ago, the former two-sport athlete emerged the winner, edging redshirt sophomore Evan Shirreffs and freshmen N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon and earning the right to be under center when the 18th-ranked Hurricanes welcome Bethune-Cookman to Hard Rock Stadium for their opener.
In the immediate aftermath of learning he had been named starter, there were some ups and downs, with Rosier working through some lackluster practices, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said.
Then game week arrived, and Miami returned to practice with a Sunday evening workout where everything seemed to shift into place for Rosier, who seemed to settle into his new role.
“I would say he was still practicing good, but up until that time, I thought he was practicing great. He had a day or two that was so-so,” Richt said. “And then Sunday night, he lit it up. You couldn’t have thrown it any better than how he threw it. You couldn’t have made any better decisions than he was making. … He’s probably over that little feeling of ‘How do I act now?’ ”
As the Hurricanes prepare to kick off a new season filled with some of the loftiest expectations they’ve faced in recent years, how Rosier handles his new role as starter is one of the biggest questions facing Miami, which is looking to build on its success from a 9-4 season last year.
But in recent days, it’s become clear: teammates and coaches have rallied around him, providing encouragement and reminding Rosier it’s not his job to replace Kaaya. All he has to do is be himself and play like the quarterback he is.
“We don’t want him to be Brad. He can’t be Brad. Only Brad can be Brad,” receiver Braxton Berrios said of Rosier, who has appeared in 10 games during his time at Miami and is best known for his lone start, a 2015 win over Duke in which he was 20-of-29 for 272 yards. “He has a different skill set than Brad does, and we really want him to keep him away from that. We don’t want him to fill his shoes. We want him to have his own shoes and lead this team in his own way.”
Added running back Mark Walton, a preseason All-ACC pick who rushed for 1,117 yards a season ago: “He’s adapted well. He’s trying to be more of a vocal leader on offense now, trying to get everybody together and trying to push everybody when he sees everybody’s tired or whatever. I think he’s doing a great job.”
While Rosier’s play may be one of the things to watch early in the season, the Hurricanes will surround him with experienced, talented veterans like Walton and Berrios that will help relieve some of the pressure he may feel. And the Hurricanes also have what is expected to be one of the top defenses in the ACC, a unit that includes two former freshman AllAmerican linebackers in Shaq Quarterman and Mike Pinckney and a defensive line filled with talented playmakers.
“As far as the team goes, we want to be great so badly, we understand that we have to be really dominant,” Quarterman said. “It’s not about winning by nine points. It’s about shutouts. That’s all we want to do. No matter who we are facing.”