Rosier felt ‘blindsided’ by demotion
Miami quarterback vows to be ready if called on again
CORAL GABLES — After he struggled in the Miami Hurricanes’ nationally televised, season-opening loss to LSU, quarterback Malik Rosier made it clear he understood that he needed to improve.
If he didn’t, he knew what than likely happen.
“If I keep messing up, then by all means, coach [Mark] Richt has the right to bench me and let somebody else play,” Rosier said after his 15-of-35 performance against LSU that included two interceptions.
Three weeks later, after wins against Savannah State and Toledo, that benching came during Miami’s 31-17 win over FIU.
After Rosier and the offense went scoreless in the game’s first two series, Richt opted to insert redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry and give the young quarterback the opportunity to play in a game that hadn’t been decided.
And with Rosier watching from the sideline, Perry connected on his first 10 passes and led the Hurricanes on two quick touchdown drives that helped Miami build a 24-0 halftime lead. The Hurricanes — and Richt, would more
it seemed — never looked back, with Perry finishing the FIU game and then starting against both North Carolina and Florida State.
Rosier, the redshirt senior who last season helped lead the Hurricanes to 10 wins and their first Coastal Division title, had lost his job. And probably making it all the tougher to swallow was the fact that before the FIU game, Rosier had accounted for a career-high five touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ 49-25 road win at Toledo.
“I was kind of blindsided when it happened. But me and coach Richt talked and I accepted it, and I told him I would help Kosi out any way I can,” Rosier said. “It was kind of hard [because] just usually during the week, I go with the ones and I didn’t get one rep with the ones for like three weeks straight. It was at the point where it was like, ‘How do you not be down?’ At the end of the day, the seniors did a good job. Tyler Gauthier, Travis Homer, those guys did a good job of saying, ‘You’re one play away, you never know what’s going to happen.’ ”
His teammates were right.
On Saturday as Perry struggled in his first road start, throwing two early interceptions at Virginia, Richt decided to — again — make an in-game quarterback change.
This time, the coach turned to Rosier, the veteran who last season helped guide the Hurricanes to comeback wins against Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia.
This time, though, there were no last-second heroics for Rosier and Miami.
The quarterback engineered three scoring drives and scored the Hurricanes’ lone touchdown on an 11-yard run with 3:04 left. But it wasn’t enough and ultimately, Virginia hung on for a 16-13 upset that left Miami’s coaches and players searching for answers as they headed into their open date.
Rosier finished 12-of-23 for 170 yards with an interception. Perry, meanwhile, was 3-of-6 for 20 yards with two interceptions, with Richt again finding himself needing to answer questions about his quarterbacks.
When the Hurricanes (5-2, 2-1 ACC) take the field at Boston College on Oct. 26, the Eagles (5-2, 2-1) will be hosting their annual Red Bandanna Game honoring former Boston College lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who is credited with saving at least a dozen people in the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 before he was killed when the tower collapsed.
It will be an emotionally charged night and every expectation is that the Hurricanes — who haven’t beaten a Power 5 opponent on the road since a 24-19 win at North Carolina on Oct. 28, 2017 — will face one of the toughest environments they’ll see all season.
So will Richt give Perry the opportunity to redeem himself on the road? Or will he look to Rosier to try and get Miami back on track?
Richt wouldn’t answer those questions immediately after the Virginia loss or during his weekly radio appearance on Monday.
“Both of those young men are really talented guys that can play and can function,” Richt said after the Virginia loss. “That’s the good news. We’ll figure out who gives us the best shot the next time we play.”
For his part, Rosier intends to be better prepared if he returns as the starter. And if it’s Perry under center, Rosier says he’ll continue giving him the support he’ll need to be successful.
“Whoever’s in is going to ball. At the end of the day, that’s all we care about. Kosi’s in, I have his back. I’m in, he has my back. Jarren [Williams] is in, we’ve got Jarren’s back,” Rosier said. “At the end of the day, we’re all capable of being successful in this offense and it’s up to the coaches to make that decision. It’s up to us to understand and support Whoever’s in. It doesn’t matter to us.”