Rosier is set to start at BC
CORAL GABLES – Hurricanes coach Mark Richt has already made it clear — when Miami takes the field Friday night for a key ACC game at Boston College, redshirt senior quarterback Malik Rosier will again be leading the offense.
What remains uncertain as the Hurricanes move closer to game day is whether redshirt freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry, who has started Miami’s past three games, will see much action that night.
Last week when Richt announced Rosier would start, he also said Perry — who was pulled early after struggling during Miami’s 16-13 loss at Virginia on Oct. 13 — would see some playing time.
Monday, though, the coach was a little bit more non-committal on that topic, though he did say he felt Perry was prepared to play if needed and the situation warranted him entering the game.
As to whether he has second-guessed his decision to switch quarterbacks throughout Miami’s first seven games, Richt says he hasn’t.
Heading into Friday’s game at Boston College, Rosier — who started the first four games of the season — has completed 52 percent of his passes (50-of-96) for 781 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Perry, who has started the last three games — has completed 56 percent of his passes (50-of-89) for 666 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
“You have to go with your gut and your heart and what you believe is right. When you think something’s right, then you do it. And if you think making a change back is a better decision, regardless of what people might think, you have to do it,” Richt said. “That’s what leadership is all about – [making] decisions that may not be popular or may not be understood. It’s like I told all the quarterbacks – this is not a personal thing about anybody or for anybody. We, as coaches, are trying to get the best players in the game that give us the best chance to win at all positions. That’s how we’re doing it.”
Lingard injured: Hurricanes running back Lorenzo Lingard injured his left knee during Monday’s practice and is currently being evaluated by members of Miami’s medical staff, a school spokesman confirmed Monday.
Lingard, a five-star prospect out of Orange City University, has seen limited playing time this season, rushing just 17 times for 136 yards with two touchdowns.
Odenigbo reprimanded: Hurricanes defensive tackle Tito Odenigbo, whose late personal foul penalty in Miami’s loss at Virginia extended a Cavaliers drive and helped keep the Hurricanes offense on the sideline in the game’s final minutes, was reprimanded for the infraction, Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said Monday.
Though Diaz declined to specify the nature of Odenigbo’s punishment, he said the issue was dealt with both on and off the practice field.
“There [are]
abunch of things that he has had to sort of complete in that way. And we have talked about how he will learn from that in terms of what happens when we let our emotions dictate our actions,” Diaz said. “If we coach these guys like they are our sons — well, it is fun to coach them when they are doing well — but when they make mistakes, our mistakes are very public. We put it on national T.V. for everyone to see. But we would be the worst parents in the world if we just kicked the kid out of the house. It is a learning experience. And the neat thing is, our guys rallied around him. Did that play lose us the game? There’s 100 plays that lost us that Virginia game. Obviously, that was at a critical time and he feels awful about it but he has done discipline and we have been able to turn it into a learning experience.”
Brian Hightower still out: Receiver Brian Hightower, who did not play at Virginia because of a foot injury, was not seen during the media viewing portion of Monday’s practice. Richt said he is not expected to play this week at Boston College, but the team is hopeful he will be available for the Nov. 3 game against Duke.
Hightower has four catches for 60 yards this season and Richt said in his absence, it’s likely fellow freshmen Mark Pope, Dee Wiggins and Marquez Ezzard could see more playing time, as could tight end Will Mallory.