Canes vowing to stick together
As focus turns to Virginia Tech, Perry will continue to lead UM’s offense
CORAL GABLES — The Miami Hurricanes started the season ranked as one of the top-10 teams in the nation. They won five of their first six games. They defeated their biggest rival for a second straight year and seemed to be riding high as they moved into the heart of their ACC schedule.
But weeks after that comeback win against Florida State, the Hurricanes have dropped four straight and after Saturday night’s 27-21 loss to Georgia Tech, they must deal with the reality that their dream of repeating as the ACC’s Coastal Division champion and playing for a conference title is over.
Considering their title hopes have been dashed, the question of motivation becomes a major issue. But on Sunday, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt reiterated his point from the night before in Atlanta — he believes his players will stick together as Miami tries to play itself into a bowl game, something the Hurricanes still haven’t secured through 10 games.
“I think that they all are certainly disappointed in how things have gone, but also, they know … we all know that we need each other to continue to fight and this team will do that,” Richt said.
“That’s one thing about them that I’m really impressed with [them] as people. Handling this adversity has not been easy, but they sure have been busting their tails to try and turn the thing around. A lot of guys played their tails off, you know. You watch the film and you can really appreciate the type of men they are and the kind of effort that they gave.”
Helping the Hurricanes (5-5, 2-4) try to move forward, at least this week, will be redshirt freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry, whom Richt said will start Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech.
For most of the season, the Hurricanes have shuffled their quarterbacks, alternating between Perry and veteran Malik Rosier, who was Miami’s starter in 2017 as the Hurricanes opened the year with 10 straight wins and rose as high as No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
But Rosier struggled late last season and some of his accuracy issues continued into the first portion of this year, while Perry, Richt said, had improved and earned the right to play.
Perry then got starts against North Carolina and FSU, both wins, before he began struggling, too.
In Perry’s first road start at Virginia — the game that started Miami’s current skid — the young quarterback threw two early interceptions that put the Hurricanes in a double-digit deficit and prompted to Richt to pull Perry in favor of the more experienced Rosier.
After Rosier played the entirety of the 27-14 loss at Boston College, the Hurricanes alternated between Rosier and Perry in a 20-12 loss to Duke before Richt opted to give Perry another chance to start on the road, this time in Miami’s game at Georgia Tech.
And though the Hurricanes ultimately came up short against the Yellow Jackets and Perry committed a costly turnover when he fumbled a snap from center Tyler Gauthier, the quarterback finished 14 of 23 for 165 yards.
On both Miami’s first and last possessions, Perry engineered scoring drives that not only resulted in touchdowns, but showed his ability to make plays with both his arm and his leg.
“I just think he threw the ball with a lot of confidence and was very much on point,” Richt said.
“Maybe it’s just the look in his eyes sometime. You can tell when a guy is very comfortable in this role and he certainly was on point with his reads and progressions and throws.”
As for Perry, he believes, like his coach, that as disappointed as the Hurricanes have been throughout their four-game losing streak, the season isn’t over and he and his teammates will continue fighting.
They’ll have their next opportunity this Saturday against a Virginia Tech (4-5, 3-3) team that, like Miami, has stumbled.
“I’m positive we can [battle back],” Perry said. “The unity we have together, we’re a family. We’re a team. And once we get it clicking on offense, defense and special teams at the same time, we can be unstoppable.”