Many factors at play in Richt’s QB decision

Is true freshman Perry best fit for ACC contender?

CORAL GABLES — If your team has a good quarterback, you probably have a good team. Miami was fortunate last year while going 9-4, as much as Brad Kaaya’s faults were exposed. But he’s in the NFL now, and the spotlight will shine on someone new.

But who?

Coach Mark Richt says he’ll need to wait until the second scrimmage of camp before naming a starter. He’s working with a pair of true freshmen (N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon), a redshirt sophomore (Evan Shirreffs) and a redshirt junior (Malik Ros-

Matt Porter

ier), the latter of whom is the only one who has taken a meaningful college snap. Perry, if you go by recruiting rankings, is by far the most talented. While the buzz around him this sum-

mer has been nothing but positive, Richt maintains he’ll need to see if Perry can handle the heat — and adds that everyone has a chance at winning the job.

Numbers to know

Kaaya started three years and left early after becoming Miami’s all-time leader in passing yards (9,968), attempts (1,188) and completions (720). He finished third in touchdowns (69) and completion percentage (60.6).

Rosier appeared in six games as a backup last season, and did more damage on the ground

(65 yards, TD) than he did through the air (2 for 4, 32 yards).

The only on-field highlights produced by this group, to this point, came from Rosier at Duke in 2015. He started in place of an injured Kaaya and won, going 20 of 29 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Whoever starts won’t have departed receiver Stacy Coley and tight end David Njoku, who combined for 106 catches, 1,452 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.

Quote of note

“Everybody’s excited about N’Kosi because he’s new. We’re in a position where two true freshmen actually have a chance to win the job. Cade (Weldon) could win it. N’Kosi could win it. But Evan could win it. Malik could win it. Could one of those veteran guys be further along at this point in taking the lead? (He) could have been, but (he) didn’t.

“I don’t want everybody to feel like it’s all about N’Kosi, because it’s not. It’s about, who’s the guy I have the most trust in to run this football team. If it’s N’Kosi, awesome. But I believe they all have the skill-set to get the job done.” — Richt on the QB race

Breakdown

Is the future now?

Fans and UM staffers are excited about Perry for good reason. He ranked as high as 84th among all 2017 recruits, per ESPN, and the third-best dualthreat QB. He arrives in an age where true freshmen can shine, like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Deshaun Watson. Perry can do things with his legs Kaaya couldn’t.

While Richt, the longtime offensive coordinator at Florida State, hasn’t directly said Perry will be another Charlie Ward, it’s probably not an accident Richt keeps bringing Ward up while discussing his freshman. The reason Ward won a Heisman at FSU, aside from his tremendous physical ability, was his point-guard-like decision-making skills. Richt needs to see how Perry thinks while under game duress, but has already praised his mobility and arm strength. If he doesn’t make bad decisions, those qualities could make a dangerous quarterback.

And that’s even if Richt weans him on the playbook. Offenses in college football keep winning with quarterbacks who leave the defense guessing “run or pass” until the last second. Richt’s “runpass-option” calls didn’t work as well with Kaaya, who didn’t cross the line of scrimmage too often. Perry could make them sizzle.

Then again, he still hasn’t worn shoulder pads on UM’s practice field.

Who else will make a run at it?

It seems like a mature enough group to handle a quarterback competition, and the results regardless of who wins. Richt would no doubt like someone to make it a little awkward.

As the only player with action under his belt, Rosier has reason to feel good about his chances, as he looks to avoid bing a backup for a third consecutive year. Shirreffs, a lightly regarded recruit in 2015, would like to pen an underdog story, as would walk-on Vincent Testaverde and Weldon, who wants to be known as more than “the other QB recruit in this class.”

Anticipate ups and downs

No matter who wins the job, it’s fair to expect Miami’s quarterback play to drop off, perhaps significantly. If this group of quarterbacks can’t make decisions up to Richt’s standard, things could look a lot like his 2006 Georgia squad, when he started true freshman Matthew Stafford (a future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick) over returning veterans: more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (12), and a 9-4 record on the strength of an excellent defense.

It’s easy to believe in Perry, who threw for 4,085 yards, 56 touchdowns and six interceptions his final two years at Ocala-Vanguard High. He also scored 15 touchdowns on the ground and extended dozens of plays with his legs. The defenses operate a lot faster in the ACC. Shirreffs and Rosier are good athletes who haven’t been consistent, while Weldon had a slow start in spring drills.

The good news: UM’s offense has a lot to work with, like several speedy receivers (Ahmmon Richards, Braxton Berrios, Mike Harley, Jeff Thomas among them), a premier tailback (Mark Walton), one of the ACC’s best tight ends (Chris Herndon) and an offensive line that should be improved. The defense should be good enough to keep them in any game. So if UM is going to break in a new QB, maybe this is the year to do it.

And if you’re really trying to dream, maybe one of them is good enough to make everyone reset their expectations for Miami. Adding a game-changing quarterback a year after losing the program’s alltime leading passer ... the Canes couldn’t be that lucky, could they?

The bottom line: with average quarterback play, UM should win a lot of games. That’s another reason why Richt plans to be so careful. While this isn’t a rebuilding year, he’s looking for someone for that top-rated 2018 class to get excited about.

Is anyone here up for that challenge?