What Did the Miami Football Players Say at Media Day?

Miami Football Coach Mark Richt and several of his players spoke to the Media on Monday at Media Day for the Miami Hurricanes.

Miami Football Freshmen, quarterback N’Kosi Perry and cornerback Trajan Bandy spoke with the media for the first time. Wide receivers Braxton Berrios and Ahmmon Richards, defensive end Joe Jackson and linebacker Shaquille Quarterman also discussed the upcoming season.

Perry is a favorite of the Miami football fan base. In a poll being conducted by CanesWarning on Twitter, 76 percent of the over 250 votes cast want the Freshman to win the starting quarterback job.

Perry has a big arm and exceptional athleticism. He is still a work in progress. He was able to make many plays in high school with his skills. Richt has high expectations from his quarterbacks. He wants to know more why his signal callers make the decisions they do. Making the right one is not enough.

Discussing the battle to become the starting quarterback, Perry said:

"“I think the competition is really good…Before I came in, I didn’t know how friendly the guys would be, whether they would accept me or not. But once I got here, they were very, very accepting. I feel like we are all brothers, so whoever wins the spot, we would all be proud, whoever it was.”"

Braxton Berrios is expected to make a big contribution at wide receiver this season. He has primarily been a situational wide receiver and punt returner during his first three years with the Hurricanes.

Berrios discussed the quarterback battle.

"“We can see how far we can go and how good we can be…It’s just the quarterback fitting in. Which one is it going to be? They all have talent and they’re all special players and all going to be great quarterbacks for us. The thing is finding out who is going to be the one starting this year. Our offense has great potential.”"

Richards is going to be one of the stars of the offense this season. He, running back Mark Walton and tight end Chris Herndon IV are going to be relied on often. They are the most proven players Miami has offensively.

Richards weighed in on the receivers who will be running with him:

"“When I think of our offense, I think of speed in the receivers’ position…I feel like we are faster than last year, like we have a lot more depth, guys who can play…I feel like we will scare a lot of people.”"

The success of the Miami football team this season will largely depend on the defense. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz returned the Hurricanes to a more attacking style last season. The Hurricanes had been more read and react under Al Golden.

"Discussing the defense Quarterman said: “I think we are close to getting over the hump…We are really focused on the little things, not just with the starters, but with everyone because it’s the standard. If everyone keeps that standard then we’ll be right back on top where we are supposed to be.”"

Jackson had a breakout campaign as a Freshman last season. He led Miami with 7.5 sacks and was second with ten tackles for loss. Jackson spoke about what the defense can do this season.

"“If our opponent doesn’t score, that’s the easiest way to win…We know we are being held to a higher standard and we have to bust our tails every game to get that done.”"

Bandy should make a push for playing time this season. He spoke about the importance of the defense being able to make plays and force turnovers this season.

"“Our expectations are to win,” Bandy said. “We want to create turnovers, not allow many touchdowns and really want to step it up this year just by making a lot of plays.”"

Miami was a big play defense last season with making plays behind the line of scrimmage. Their 1.5 positive turnover margin per game was largely due to the offense’s low turnover rate. They need to force more turnovers this season.

The Hurricanes 19 forced turnovers last season ranked just 67th nationally. With a new quarterback under center this season, the defense is going to have to be able to force more turnovers.

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Giving the offense a short field will give the offense better chances to score and the team a better chance to win. Diaz has placed an emphasis on forcing turnovers throughout training camp.