UM’s N’Kosi Perry hopes better preparation, more experience help him grow into starting QB role

N’Kosi Perry has already had the chance to be Miami’s starter.

It didn’t necessarily go as planned the first time around.

Perry, the redshirt freshman quarterback who has been a fan favorite since his arrival in Coral Gables in 2017, started this season as Malik Rosier’s backup after a one-game suspension kept Perry from truly competing for Miami’s starting job during preseason camp.

Once that suspension against LSU was served and Perry began showing off in practice some of the skill and athleticism that made him a highly coveted four-star prospect at Ocala’s Vanguard High, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt determined it was time to give Perry the chance to play.

First there was mop-up duty in Miami’s dominant win over FCS-bound Savannah State. Then a few late snaps in a road win at Toledo. Finally, on the third series of Miami’s game against FIU — the Hurricanes’ fourth game of the season — Perry had the chance to play in a game that hadn’t been decided and the young quarterback dazzled.

He hit on his first 10 pass attempts. Led the Hurricanes to two quick scoring drives. And before long, he not only finished out Miami’s 31-17 win over the Panthers, but he secured the start in the Hurricanes’ ACC opener against North Carolina. And against rival Florida State.

But it was during his first road start at Virginia where things went awry.

Perry struggled with what the Cavaliers did defensively. He threw two early interceptions that helped put the Hurricanes in a double-digit deficit. And Richt, worried the moment was too big for the redshirt freshman, pulled Perry and replaced him with the veteran Rosier.

The hope was that Rosier, who last season led Miami to multiple come-from-behind wins, would spark the Hurricanes offense. That spark never came, not against Virginia or Boston College two weeks later or even Duke the week after that.

As the Hurricanes saw their season start to unravel and their hopes of repeating as Coastal Division champions start to slip away, Perry was watching from the sideline, sporting a headset and not a helmet.

After that third straight loss, Richt opted to — again — have his quarterbacks compete for the right to start and it was then that Perry seized on his opportunity, not just on the field, but off of it.

“Watched a lot more film, definitely the studying part,” Perry said Wednesday, when describing how his preparation for last week’s game at Georgia Tech was different from how he’d gotten ready for some of Miami’s earlier games. “Not just in the facility, but on my own. That was the main goal. Not just watching it by myself, but getting the players involved.”

He continued, “I knew it was another opportunity and I knew I needed to take advantage of it and I felt like I tried my best.”

Richt and Perry’s teammates were impressed, too.

The redshirt freshman started at Georgia Tech and while his numbers weren’t overly sensational in Miami’s eventual 27-21 loss, he finished the night 14 of 23 for 164 yards and engineered two of the Hurricanes’ best drives in recent weeks.

On what turned out to be Miami’s final possession, Perry led the Hurricanes on a 15-play, 95-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Travis Homer. Twice, Perry extended that drive with completed third-down passes and twice more, he rushed himself for first downs.

Though there was a botched exchange with center Tyler Gauthier that resulted in a turnover, Perry didn’t throw any interceptions against Tech and more than all of that, Richt said he saw a quarterback that had grown since that disappointing Oct. 13 loss at Virginia.

“I liked just his demeanor during the game. I liked when I was communicating with him in between plays. He could recall what was happening. He could tell you what he did and why he did it and what he saw. He was on top of it. Where, in the Virginia game, I didn’t see that,” Richt said. “What was the difference? The difference was I thought that [Virginia] moment got too big for him. That’s what I thought happened. I felt like I had to be careful not to just keep him in there for his sake and our sake. So, I made the change. Now, he’s back in there and I saw a different guy in there. I think he’s learned to prepare better as well. So, I think he’s turning a corner. I don’t know if he’s turned a corner. But I think he’s turning a corner.”

Added receiver Dee Wiggins, “[Perry] put the team on his back basically. He improves every day in practice. He improves every game.”

Now, for Perry, the key is to continue building on the success he’s had and the lessons he’s learned. He’ll face his next challenge Saturday when the Hurricanes (5-5, 2-4 ACC) try to secure bowl eligibility with a win over a Virginia Tech team that has endured its own struggles.

The expectation before the season was that this game would likely help decide the winner of the Coastal Division. That won’t be the case now.

But, it could help Perry continue to cement his status as Miami’s starter, particularly considering the fact that the Hurricanes are courting Clemson graduate transfer Kelly Bryant, who is set to visit Miami next week.

For his part, Perry somewhat shrugged off the questions about having to potentially fend off competition from a veteran quarterback transfer.

“I feel like that would make everybody stronger, like play better,” he said. “Competition is always good I feel like, for any position on the field.”

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