Written by Darrell Wilkinson
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – N’Kosi Perry looks to be the new starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes as he led his team to a dominant performance over FIU 31 to 17. Perry went 17 for 25 with 224 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and really brought a new energy and confidence to the Hurricanes offense.
After failing to convert a 4th & 1 on their opening possession the then Malik Rosier led ‘Canes faced a 3rd & 5 on FIU’s 49 yard line and Head Coach Mark Richt calls a run to sophomore running back DeeJay Dallas that only gains a yard. That play screamed ‘I don’t trust my quarterback’ and Richt responded by handing Rosier the headset and calling upon the Redshirt Freshman Perry who led the team on an 87 yard scoring drive on his first series. Although that drive featured mostly runs, you could feel the confidence in the offense change.
With explosive wide receiver Jeff Thomas taken out with a possible dehydration issue early in the game the other weapons on the Hurricanes offense had to step up for their young quarterback and wide receiver Mike Harley Jr and tight end Brevin Jordan showed up in a big way. A true freshman at tight end, Jordan was the recipient of the first four N’Kosi completions of the game and finished the game with five catches for 67 yards and caught a beautifully thrown ball for a 12 yard touchdown before halftime. Mike Harley Jr, the sophomore wide receiver contributed on a big 42 yard catch and run up the seam and ended his day with 76 yards and a career high seven catches.
The Hurricanes defense led by Gerald Willis III were absolutely monstrous and had it not been for Mark Richt’s decision to put youth in early for experience we’d be looking at a shutout and potentially a game where FIU would have failed to surpass 100 total yards on offense. Through three quarters this terror of a defense held a very run committed Panthers team to just 48 yards but let up 139 yards and all 17 of FIU’s points in the fourth quarter(and really it was between three drives). Still the number one tackle for loss team in the nation tallied another 11 to that list, two sacks, an interception and less than one yard averaged rushing on the ground (0.7 yards per carry on 24 attempts) showing they might be one of the most dominant groups in the country especially up front.
The ‘Canes finished the day with 488 total yards, 248 of those yards on the ground and the majority of the early workload went to running back Travis Homer, who had 114 yards on 13 attempts and found the endzone to keep his team on top.
It’s hard to imagine Mark Richt starting Malik Rosier in Thursday’s game against North Carolina despite a late game mistake by his new young quarterback who tried to make a play that simply wasn’t there as his only blemish to the game. You have to look at the positives and anybody who watched Perry today could see that different edge he brings. Also starting 10 for 10 in a game where he basically started(3rd offensive series of a 0-0 game) is a good indication of what you have even against an arguably undermatched opponent.
We’ll find out this Thursday as the Miami Hurricanes host the North Carolina Tar-Heels at 8:00PM/EST and can be seen LIVE on ESPN.
- Darrell Wilkinson TheSkyBoat.com
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