Rosier keeps his starting QB job
CORAL GABLES – A redshirt, fifth-year senior, Malik Rosier has been at Miami long enough to know what the expectations are, year in and year out, for the Hurricanes as a whole.
He knows, too what is specifically expected of any of the players tasked with lining up under center at a place once known as “Quarterback U.”
And as one of his biggest critics, Rosier understands that right now, as the Hurricanes look to move on after their disappointing 33-17 season-opening loss to LSU in the AdvoCare Classic, he’s far from playing as he should.
Rosier was a meager 15 of 35 for 259 yards with two interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown — against the Tigers. He was inaccurate, overthrowing open receivers. And he was pressured relentlessly, a fact that resulted in four sacks.
That, he vowed on Tuesday as No. 22 Miami shifted its focus to Saturday’s home opener against Savannah State, is going to change.
Rosier knows what’s stake if it doesn’t.
“If I keep messing up, then by all means coach [Mark] Richt has the right to bench me and let somebody else play,” said Rosier, who was still taking reps with the No. 1 offense on Tuesday and is still the starter according to both Richt and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. “It’s one bad game. We’ve still got 13, 14 more and I don’t plan on ever letting that happen again.”
What’s been problematic for some of Rosier’s critics outside the Miami locker room to accept is that Rosier’s struggles aren’t exactly new. at
While he led the Hurricanes to 10 straight wins to start 2017, Rosier was at times streaky and inconsistent during that stretch. During Miami’s three-game losing streak to close out the year, his accuracy issues got worse and in a stunning 24-14 loss to a sub-.500 Pittsburgh team in the regularseason finale, Rosier’s errant throws were frustrating enough that Richt pulled him briefly from the game and inserted backup Evan Shirreffs, who has since transferred from Miami.
Ahead of the Hurricanes’ appearance in the Orange Bowl, Rosier revealed he’d dealt with a nagging shoulder injury for most of the season. But even after he said he felt healthier, he was still only 11 of 26 for 203 yards with three interceptions in what was ultimately a 34-24 loss to Wisconsin.
All of that prompted Richt to say, during the spring, that Rosier would have to hold off young quarterbacks N’Kosi Perry, Cade Weldon and Jarren Williams in order to keep his starting job. By July, however, Rosier had been named Miami’s starter and coaches and players said they’d seen significant changes in the quarterback, noting his accuracy, footwork and leadership had all improved during the offseason.
Then Sunday’s game happened and once again, Richt and Rosier have faced a flood of criticism, the coach for sticking with his starter, the quarterback for the way he has completed just 44.3 percent (55 of 124) of his passes during Miami’s now four-game losing streak.
Still, even with Miami’s young quarterbacks likely to see playing time against Savannah State, Richt made it clear Rosier remains the Hurricanes starter.