Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Who will be UM’s top QB?
N’Kosi Perry holds own against veterans Rosier, Shirreffs.
CORAL GABLES — In the moments after their first practice ended, most of the Hurri- canes sought refuge.
After more than two hours in the grueling South Florida heat, it was hard to fault them for heading straight into their air-conditioned locker room or for sliding into the ice tubs waiting beyond the fence.
Some, though, continued working in the bright sun just a little bit longer.
Among them? Miami coach Mark Richt and N’Kosi Perry, the freshman who could be Mi- ami’s quarterback of the future but who, for now, finds himself in the middle of a fierce competition. Perry is up against some of Miami’s veterans, including redshirt junior Malik Rosier and redshirt sophomore Evan Shirreffs.
But like several of the Hurricanes newcomers Tuesday, Perry experienced a few bumps during his first college practice, including fumbled snaps under center, which prompted the extra work with Richt.
Still, expectations remain high for Perry, and there was nothing that seemed to indicate any of his mistakes were
more than typical first-day miscues.
In fact, little seemed to dampen the Hurricanes’ sense of excitement about not only Perry and his adjustment to college play, but about Miami’s overall hopes for the coming season.
“In the context of what we’re asking him to do, he really does have good quarterback passing fundamentals — not a lot of wasted motion, some nice zip on the ball. He does understand touch,” Richt said of Perry. “He’s a passer. He’s not just a thrower, like some guys are. I’d say maybe 50 percent, he’s getting right now, which is probably pretty good for the first day at the pace we’re going. That’s what you practice, that’s why you study film and correct things. We’ll install at a pace that’s faster than comfortable for him, but he’ll catch up.”
Added receiver Braxton Berrios:, “He did well. Like I said, there were a few firstday mistakes, as always. And that was across the board. That’s N’Kosi, that’s Malik, Evan. That’s all the quarterbacks. You can tell [Perry] is excited and he knows what to do. It’s just the point of doing it and making the right decisions.”
As the Hurricanes prepare for their second season under Richt, the team finds itself in uncharted waters.
When Richt arrived in Coral Gables, Miami had a veteran signal caller in Brad Kaaya. And last season, Kaaya delivered for Miami. He became UM’s all-time leading passer, the Hurricanes went 9-4 and closed out the season with five straight wins, including their first bowl victory in a decade.
Though Kaaya has moved on to the NFL and the Hurricanes don’t yet know whether Perry, Rosier or Shirreffs will be the starter Sept. 2 against BethuneCookman, Miami’s run late last year has helped generate excitement for the season ahead.
Add to that the return of a core of talented players — including running back Mark Walton, receiver Ahmmon Richards, linebackers Shaquille Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Zach McCloud, as well as defensive linemen Kendrick Norton, RJ McIntosh and Chad Thomas — and it’s easy to understand why the Hurricanes were the preseason pick to win the Coastal Division. That’s something Miami hasn’t done since moving to the ACC in 2004.
That, Berrios noted, would be a starting point for these Hurricanes. But he and several of his teammates weren’t shy about saying they’d like to do even more than that by year’s end.
“I think we realize how good we can be,” Berrios said. “Last year, we knew we could be good. Now, we really see it. We really have all the pieces. We have an incredible coaching staff and we’ve had a full year with that coaching staff under our belt. We’re coming into camp and we know everything, it’s not everybody learning. We know everything, the veterans are setting the pace and everybody’s following.”
Said Norton: “There’s a lot of excitement because we know what we’re capable of and we know what a lot of people expect us to do. We know the standard for us here in South Florida and Miami and in the nation. We have a lot of expectations on us and we’re embracing it.”