Making a mark
UM freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry impresses.
Chris Tim Greg Graham Zusi DaMarcus Beasley Bastian Miguel Michael Bradley David Villa Nemanja Nikolic Sebastian Giovinco Kaka
MIAMI — Miami Hurricanes freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry has been on campus for just seven weeks.
That hasn’t kept him from winning over teammates in that short period. Perry continues to draw raves during summerworkouts.
“He’s been real good,” UM safety Sheldrick Redwine said. “We’ve seen him move with the ball. He’s real active with the ball. … We know he’s got a good arm, nice deep passes.”
Redwine was among 30 players who participated in theHurricanes’ community event Friday morning at the Miami Boys & Girls Club. They interacted with the children while serving breakfast sandwiches to attendees.
After the event, most of the chatterwas about Perry. With coach Mark Richt already saying the quarterback job won’t be decided until the finalweek of training camp, Perry has done everything possible to keep his name in the conversation.
Sophomores Malik Rosier and Evan Shirreffs were generally considered the favorites coming out of spring practice. Still, don’t count out Perry in the race to become the starter.
When asked whether Perry could win the job, Redwine said: “If he put his mind to it. They’re fighting right now for the quarterback position. Whoever’s going to stand out to the coaches, I guess that’s who they’re going to go with.”
TheHurricanes are holding an open competition after the early departure of three-year starter Brad Kaaya to the NFL. Rosier is the only quarterback on the roster to have taken game snaps. That should at least allow Perry opportunity to earn a look from the coaching staff.
Last year, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Perry threw for 1,778 yards and 24 touchdownswhile completing 64 percent of his passes as a senior at Ocala Vanguard. After being named Florida’s Class 6A player of the year, he was rated the nation’s sixth-best quarterback by 247sports.com.
His dual-threat ability is what gives him the best chance to compete.
“He’s good with his feet,” defensive lineman RJ McIntosh said. “He can get out of pressure. He can get out of situations and still complete a pass.”
So far, Perry has been everything expected, and maybe more. He’s taller, faster, stronger and more hard-working than most thought. He’s even funnier, with many teammates impressed by his personality.
The true test will come when 7-on-7 summerworkouts are replaced by full contact. Perry has already impressed with his decisionmaking. LinemanTyree St. Louis said he has shown the perfect mix of when to run and pass.
“There are two kinds of quarterbacks,” St. Louis said. “There’s the ones that run whenever they want to and run when they have to. With him, he’s the kind of quarterback that can run whenever he wants to and he can run when he has to.”
During a recentworkout, Perry dropped a few jaws when he caused a blitzing cornerback to fall with a juke move and raced down the field for a large gain. St. Louis refused to name the defender, but the play has provided plenty of laughter throughout the offseason.
“The corner just fell down and he just took off,” St. Louis said. “I was like, ‘Damn.’ I said yeah, I’m glad we got that on tape.”
srichardson@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter @shandelrich