Rosier And Shirreffs Lead Perry In Hurricanes QB Competition

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Miami (CBSMiami) - True freshman N'Kosi Perry has some catching up to do if he wants to be Miami's starting quarterback on September 2nd.

The Hurricanes open their season against Bethune-Cookman in nineteen days, and the more experienced quarterbacks are creating some separation.

"If I had to do it today, it would be an older guy right now - one of the two veterans," said head coach Mark Richt during Monday's media day.

Of course, Richt's decision doesn't have to be made today, or even this week, but a trend is developing.

Junior Malik Rosier started Monday's practice as the No.1 quarterback, followed by sophomore Evan Shirreffs. Perry and fellow true freshman Cade Weldon split the third and fourth team reps.

Richt cited the poise his veterans showed during Saturday's closed scrimmage.

"The two older guys, they really did a nice job with their decision making," said Richt. "Because they knew where to go with the ball, when to go with it, they were more accurate."

The freshmen, on the other hand, still lack consistency.

"The younger guys were a little more confused at times," noted Richt. He pointed out that sometimes when Perry and Weldon make the right throw they do it by getting lucky. They can't always explain why they threw it to the right receiver in film review.

Even so, Richt noted that a certain Perry mistake may have truly been the fault of his coaching. "The last interception N'Kosi threw, it's probably my fault," Richt said, "but I ran a play that we walked through in the gym twice and we covered two different meetings, but it had never been repped by any of the guys, let alone a freshman."

Richt admitted: "I probably put him in a bad situation there, of running a play that would have worked if he reacted properly, but there's not enough reps of the play to be doing that."

Richt says that after going to church "and spending some time just sleeping and praying (but not sleeping IN church,)" he decided to be patient and let the quarterback battle run its course, "at least through the next scrimmage."

This Saturday's second scrimmage could help Richt decide who holds the edge between Rosier and Shirreffs. Richt either hasn't decided that yet, or chose not to specify.

"They're both playing like veterans right now. I'll let you all know when it's time."