Hurricanes coach Mark Richt says QB N’Kosi Perry ‘in the driver’s seat’ to be starter in 2019, but competition is coming — again

In his three years as Miami Hurricanes coach, Mark Richt has made it clear — competition is essential, particularly at the quarterback position.

He has no intention of changing that philosophy, but he conceded Monday morning that with his development in recent weeks and his play, redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry will likely be the leader in the off-season quarterback race heading into the 2019 season.

“He’s in the driver’s seat,” Richt responded when asked about Perry potentially being Miami’s quarterback of the future during his weekly radio appearance with WQAM-560’s Joe Rose. “But, there’s some other guys on campus as we know in [Cade] Weldon and [Jarren] Williams that are talented guys and they’re going to get their chance to perform every single day, in the spring especially, and show what they’ve got.

“I’m not going to close the door by any means, because you just can’t do that at this point. But I do see a lot of growth in N’Kosi and I think he’s got the skill set. He can make all the throws, he runs the ball well. … He did a few things that were really smart and we like how he’s growing.”

For the better part of the season, Perry — who was suspended for the season opener against LSU — has alternated starts and playing time with veteran Malik Rosier, who in 2017 led the Hurricanes to 10 straight wins to start the season.

But Rosier has struggled with his accuracy and has, at times, been streaky, prompting Richt to give Perry a chance.

The redshirt freshman made his Hurricanes debut in Miami’s 77-0 win over Savannah State, saw action late in a 49-24 win over Toledo and a week later against FIU, Perry entered the game in the third series and finished what was eventually a 31-17 win.

He started Miami’s ACC opener against North Carolina and led the Hurricanes to a 28-27 comeback win over Florida State on Oct. 6. It appeared Rosier had been demoted for good until Perry struggled early in his first road start, a 16-13 loss to Virginia.

That night, after Perry threw two early interceptions, Richt went back to Rosier, hoping the veteran might be able to spark Miami’s offense.

It never happened and that loss to Virginia kicked off a four-game losing streak in which Richt, again, found himself shuffling between Rosier and Perry.

But the younger quarterback regained the starting job in Miami’s last two games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech and has shown the kind of growth and development Richt has wanted to see for months.

That, plus strong play to finish out the year, could make him the favorite to be the starter next season when the Hurricanes are set to open 2019 in Orlando against rival Florida in the Camping World Kickoff Game.

“I thought he did well,” Richt said of Perry’s 21-of-34, 171-yard, two-touchdown performance in Saturday’s 38-14 win over Virginia Tech. “He’s getting better. He’s getting more comfortable as he goes. We had a couple shots, a deep ball that if we complete that, that was about a 60-yarder for a touchdown. We had another one that landed right in the hands of our running back, would have been another 70-yard touchdown. Another 130 yards passing and a couple more touchdowns, it would have been really a big day. I thought he handled things well. … Kosi, I think, is getting it. I think he’s growing and I thought he really managed the game well and made a couple big-league throws, too.”

While Perry, Weldon and Williams figure to be the major players in Miami’s 2019 quarterback race, there is the possibility another name could emerge.

Clemson graduate transfer Kelly Bryant is set to visit the Hurricanes (6-5, 3-4) on Saturday, when they host Pittsburgh in their regular-season finale (3:30, ESPN). While Richt hasn’t been able to comment on Bryant’s recruitment specifically because he’d violate NCAA rules, he reiterated to Rose a point he made last week — the Hurricanes will always recruit and try to improve their roster as best they can, even if they already have talented players at certain positions.

“We can’t make mention of anybody in that regard. That’s just NCAA rules, but we’re always looking to recruit and get our roster right the best it can possibly be,” Richt said. “But we can’t say anything in particular.”

Entering the final week of the regular season, Perry has appeared in nine games and completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 1,037 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Weldon, who endured a four-game suspension this year, has appeared in four games and completed 2-of-3 passes for 14 yards, while Williams — a freshman who was suspended for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech — has played just once.

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