Mark Richt plays coy in who will be Miami Hurricanes starting QB

Mark Richt was coy with the media all day on Monday about who the Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback would be for Thursday night’s ACC opener against North Carolina,.

Richt had his usual Monday morning visit on the Joe Rose show. He then spoke with the media after practice on Monday as well. Perry had a sizzling performance on Saturday to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a 31-17 victory over FIU.

To the fans and media watching the game, it seems obvious that the starting quarterback should be Perry. Perry has been sensational in two appearances for the Miami Hurricanes this season after being suspended for the season opener against LSU. Perry did not make the trip with the team to Arlington, Texas.

He was the second quarterback to get playing time in the 77-0 annihilation of Savannah State. Rosier played the whole game last week in the Miami Hurricanes 49-24 victory at Toledo.

Richt has said all along he would play the quarterback who gave his team the best chance to win. It’s likely he didn’t want to play Perry on the road in a hostile environment. Giving Perry his first playing time against an FBS team was a much better situation to come into the game at home than on the road.

The Miami Hurricanes fan base knows by now that Perry completed his first ten passes and finished with three touchdowns and one interception. Perry has better stats on the season than Rosier. The difference is that Rosier had to face a challenging LSU defense.

Richt would not commit to a starter for Thursday’s game against North Carolina. Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald summed up Richt’s day talking with the media.

"“I think the less your opponent knows, the better,…If we knew exactly what they were going to do on offense,…it would be a huge advantage…’’"

Perry took all of the snaps at quarterback with the first-team offense during the 15-minute media viewing portion of practice. Richt seems to enjoy the media observing practice and guess who might be where on the depth chart.

"“I know this: I’m going to continue to watch practice and let everybody know what’s up when it’s time to let them know…But I’m not telling what’s up…I had a little fun today in our little running back [handoff] drill,…I know how much you all watch it. I saw y’all scribbling down there. So, I got a good chuckle on that one.’’"

Rose tried to press Richt Monday morning on who the starter will be on Thursday night. He did it in a softball fashion by saying that he knew Richt wasn’t going to reveal the starter on Rose’s show. Richt did explain that he made the decision to play Perry on the third series:

"“And just see where it goes…I didn’t know how he, we would start the first couple series. I didn’t know what was going to happen… He played well. He hit about nine, 10 in a row, and everywhere moving the ball and scoring points and all that, so I kept him in there…I have a pretty good idea (who the starting quarterback will be), but I’d prefer to…To be honest with you, I’m not 100 percent sure, but I do a lot of things based on what my gut, what my spirit’s telling me. And right now I’ve just been scrambling around trying to get this game plan in.’’"

It would be shocking at this point if anyone but Perry is the starter. He gave the Hurricanes a different dimension when he was in the game against FIU. The Hurricanes failed to move the ball on the first two drives. Perry has a stronger arm and is more accurate with the football.

Perry also seemed to give the team an emotional lift when he entered the game. The way he played by completing his first ten passes was electrifying. If he can continue to give the Hurricanes a lift, the rest of the season can be special.