Rosier optimistic he’ll remain as starting QB
CORAL GABLES — Even after starting 13 games, after helping lead the Hurricanes to their first Coastal Division title and presiding over game-winning drives against rival Florida State and Georgia Tech, Malik Rosier entered spring practice four weeks ago knowing his coaches and teammates needed to see more from him.
He knew if he didn’t put his best foot forward, there’d be a good chance one of Miami’s younger quarterbacks, including redshirt freshman fan favorite N’Kosi Perry, could unseat him as leader of the Hurricanes offense when Miami opens the season against LSU in September.
That remains a possibility. But with the Hurricanes set to wrap up spring practice on Saturday, Rosier seems optimistic he’s done enough to remain Miami’s starter, especially when it comes to earning the trust of his teammates.
“A lot of the linemen trust me. The receivers trust me,” Rosier said Tuesday. “They tell me ‘Be you, don’t try to be someone else.’ And that’s the biggest thing, just being the same guy every day. Once the guys start to see ‘OK, this is the guy Malik is,’ they’re going to follow along. That’s one thing I have to do.”
After the Hurricanes wrapped up their 13th practice of the spring, Miami coach Mark Richt spoke as highly of Rosier as he has all spring, noting that the veteran has a solid knowledge of the Hurricanes’ offensive system. He also said that on Tuesday, in particular, Rosier made a series of plays only possible because of his familiarity with the offense.
“Today, he saw a blitz, he made a check, he got us into a great protection, he got us into a great route, he threw a great ball and [receiver Mike Harley] caught it probably 25 yards down the field for a big first down,” Richt said. “We were having a drill, competition, to get first downs, and he did exactly what a veteran quarterback should do exactly how he should do it.
“That’s where you just go, ‘That’s why he’s the starter.’ He’s got to be everything on a very consistent basis as far as just hitting his targets. That’s probably been the biggest issue. He’s been streaky. But most games, he’s found ways to win.”
But Richt also noted there have been times Rosier has struggled, most notably in last year’s regularseason finale at Pittsburgh.
That day, with the Hurricanes ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoffs and still in the national championship conversation, Rosier struggled so badly Richt opted to pull him from the game and insert reserve Evan Shirreffs, who has since transferred out of the program.
Rosier, who spent the better part of the first three quarters that day missing his targets, finished 15-of-34 for 187 yards. After the game, the quarterback himself conceded he’d been “complacent” that day and that getting pulled “put football in perspective for me.”
While the Hurricanes followed that loss at Pittsburgh with losses to Clemson in the ACC Championship and Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl, on Tuesday, Richt noted there were more troublesome issues in those games than just the quarterback’s play.
The bottom line? Richt knows his starting quarterback responds most when challenged, so those challenges will likely keep coming, even moving into the fall.
“He just functions better,” Richt said “He practices better. He focuses better. It probably shouldn’t be that way for your quarterback, but that’s how he’s made up. So OK, we’ll compete. And if we need to throw somebody else in there, we’ll do it.”