Richt not keeping ’Canes off social media

NEW YORK — The starting tight end went on Instagram Live and shared his thoughts on which quarterback would start the final game of the season — before his coach did.

The quarterback who had started the final three games of the regular season was caught on a teammate’s Instagram Live proclaiming he was suspended ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl.

And days earlier, the school newspaper reported that same quarterback had posted a sexually explicit video on one of his social media accounts — a video Miami was forced to address and deemed “inappropriate.”

Still, despite all of the negative headlines caused by his players’ misadventures on social media, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt says he’s not quite ready to keep his team off some of the platforms they love.

“I think the biggest thing for all of our young men when it comes to social media is to understand that anything you put out there is very, very public,” Richt said before the Pinstripe Bowl. “And I think they know that, but I don’t think they really understand how powerful those things are.”

He continued, “I mean, I’m not ready to shut it down because I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do, but when we do go on social media, we need to be thinking in terms of ‘Will this be helpful to the team or will it hurt?’ ”

Of late, some of his players’ social media exploits haven’t been great.

After UM’s school newspaper reported the existence and then deletion of a sexually explicit video on quarterback N’Kosi Perry’s Snapchat back in September, Hurricanes tight end Brevin Jordan told eager fans on an Instagram Live question-and-answer session last weekend that Malik Rosier — not Perry — would start in Thursday’s Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin. Jordan later walked that back in another Instagram Live, but Perry himself was captured on teammate Gilbert Frierson’s Instagram telling those seated around him at a comedy show that he was suspended.

Richt later said the quarterback was “available to play” and though Perry dressed for Thursday’s game and went through warm-ups, he did not enter the game in the first half, even as Rosier struggled. Perry eventually entered the game in the third quarter.

Earlier this year, Perry found himself in another social media snafu when he posted a video of himself flashing a large amount of money while in a car.

That incident also had to be addressed, with Richt saying he’d not only spoken to Perry about the video, but noting that Miami had to make sure the redshirt freshman hadn’t violated any kind of NCAA rules.

Ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl when asked if Perry had been disciplined for any of his social media postings, Richt said Perry had been “educated.”

“You’re a part of the team. You’re a part of an organization. You’ve got to make decisions that are going to be positive for yourself and your family name and the university and for the program,” Richt said. “There’s a responsibility to do things right when it comes to social media.”

Johnson honored: Safety Jaquan Johnson, one of the leaders of Miami’s defense, on Wednesday received an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Johnson finished the regular season as Miami’s leading tackler with 79 stops. He had one interception coming into the game — and picked off Wisconsin’s Jack Coan in the first half Thursday.

Gauthier misses Pinstripe Bowl: Center Tyler Gauthier, who had started 29 consecutive games for Miami, did not play in the Pinstripe Bowl because of what Miami described as “academic reasons.”

Redshirt junior Hayden Mahoney started in his place, though former Douglas High standout Corey Gaynor saw some playing time as well.

Feagles to transfer: Before kickoff, Miami also announced that punter Zach Feagles would be leaving the program. A source told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he intends to transfer.

Feagles, the son of former Hurricanes punter and NFL veteran Jeff Feagles, struggled this season, averaged 38.9 yards per punt. He had a long of 56 yards, one touchback and had 11 of his punts land inside the 20-yard line.