Mark Richt has had nearly three years at Miami and his patterns for better or worse have become predictable. If Redshirt Freshman Quarterback N’Kosi Perry is suspended for the Pinstripe Bowl expect Redshirt Senior Malik Rosier to start in his place.
N’Kosi Perry had his third indiscretion of 2018 revealed on Friday by the Miami Hurricane student newspaper. The Hurricane reported that Perry posted a sexually explicit video to his Snapchat account that has since been taken down. The video lasted ten seconds.
It was stated in the report by the Miami Hurricane newspaper that Perry posted the video less than 24 hours after Miami’s victory over Toledo on September 15. The video was then passed around the Miami student body in November and the Hurricane broke the story on December 21.
Perry and Rosier’s teammates’, Freshmen, cornerback Gilbert Frierson and tight end Brevin Jordan both had social media posts this weekend stating that N’Kosi Perry would be suspended for the Pinstripe Bowl. If we go based on Richt’s past history, Rosier is the near definite starter against Wisconsin if Perry is suspended.
Miami Herald columnist Barry Jackson who always has good inside information about the Miami Football program reported on Christmas Eve that Rosier and Redshirt Freshman Jarren Williams have received all the snaps in practice leading up to the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday.
That seems to indicate that Rosier will start and Williams will back him up. It would be surprising for Williams to see any playing time against Wisconsin unless Rosier gets hurt or is incredibly ineffective in Richt’s eyes. Richt analysis of ineffective can be far different than fans or the media.
Jackson spoke to an unnamed source about the quarterback situation, who said that Rosier is likely to start the Pinstripe Bowl at Quarterback for Miami and who did what during practice in Miami before the Hurricanes arrived in New York Saturday leading up to the game with Wisconsin.
"“A source very close to a UM player said players have been left with the impression that Rosier is “the guy” for Thursday’s game and that Jarren Williams has received regular teamwork in practice, too.Two sources said Perry was excluded from some team drills in practice last week, with Rosier and Williams getting those snaps. It’s unclear if that has changed since the team began practicing in New York on Sunday.”"
Both Perry and Rosier have been incredibly inconsistent and inaccurate this season. The Hurricanes two primary quarterbacks have combined to attempt 330 of the 337 passes Miami has attempted this season. As a team, the Hurricanes have completed 51.9 percent of their passes in 2018. Rosier and Perry are at 51.3 percent combined.
Canes Warning has frequently documented Miami’s poor passing offense in 2018. The Hurricanes were ranked 100 or below nationally in most passing categories. That includes 116th in completion percentage.
Richt has been very consistent with his criteria about when Freshmen will play for him. It’s even more pronounced with quarterbacks. He wants his first-year signal callers to know the playbook, be able to read opposing defenses, be able to make calls and audibles at the line of scrimmage and have the confidence to play.
The last point might be the most important. While other blogs have called for Williams to play if N’Kosi Perry is suspended, in a Bowl game against a program as good as Wisconsin might not be the right time. The Badgers defense could tee off against Williams playing the first meaningful game and snaps of his career.
Richt has talked about playing Freshmen too early during his weekly appearances on the Joe Rose show on the Miami Hurricanes flagship station WQAM in Miami. He has stated that playing a Freshmen too early can destroy a player’s confidence. Fans will ignore that. It’s the coaching staff’s job to look at the big picture.
With just over 48 hours to play at the time of this post, expect Rosier to go if Perry is suspended. Jackson’s information certainly seems to indicate that he will be. Root for the Hurricanes and hope for a win no matter who is under center. A win in any bowl game is important. It should be treated as such and not as a scrimmage.