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Mark Richt Discusses Miami QB Competition To Replace Brad Kaaya
Mark Richt recently discussed the Miami quarterback competition to replace Brad Kaaya, and is very bullish on the crop of talent sitting in Coral Gables.
February 7, 2017
Mark Richt recently discussed the Miami quarterback competition to replace Brad Kaaya, and he is very bullish on the crop of talent sitting in Coral Gables.
Year 2, quarterback No. 2. While Mark Richt undoubtedly would have enjoyed having some continuity under center entering his second season with Miami, the early departure of Brad Kaaya to the NFL Draft has shaken up the plan a bit. In the plainest of coach speak, there will be a competition for the starting job next season.
Two names that will be bandied about are 2017 signees N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon. The two quarterbacks are both in-state prospects, helping make up the nation’s No. 13 overall recruiting class (Miami also held the second-highest class in the ACC).
During a recent radio interview, Richt broke down the quarterback competition between his young signal callers.
In terms of the 4-star Perry (the No. 2 quarterback in the state of Florida), Richt is bullish on his raw ability.
“He is still on the skinny side, but he has tremendous arm talent and leg talent.” Richt said. “The guy has got so much ability. He is a little raw in his fundamentals, but it is nothing that won’t get cleaned up pretty quick. He is very coachable.”
That last statement appears to be the most important for Richt. By Richt’s admission, Perry has the ability to take a play going nowhere and transform it into a positive. There’s a bit of a wildcard possibility there, as players of that ilk often have boom-bust tendencies (John Madden called them “No! No! Go! Go!” players). But Richt is enthused for the magic Perry brings to the football field.
“When you watch his highlights, he will make some plays that won’t be designed and you will be like, ‘oh my gosh, what did he just do?’ We are excited about the things he can do for us.”
On the more traditional side of the spectrum is Weldon. Richt characterized the 3-star quarterback as being “very athletic” with “really good fundamentals as a passer.”
In Weldon, it appears as though Richt believes he may have found a diamond in the rough. Weldon was injured as a junior and fell off the radar before lighting up teams during his senior season.
“He is about 6-feet-2 and over 200 pounds.” Richt said. “He is a guy that tore his ACL his junior season and really went under the radar. His tenth-grade film was excellent. He got hurt and didn’t play and people fell off him a little bit. He came back his senior year and threw for 3,000 yards and had a good year.”
Perry and Weldon join a packed depth chart that includes the likes of Jack Allison, Malik Rosier, Evan Shirreffs and Vincent Testaverde. So while Kaaya may be on his way to starting on Sunday afternoons, Miami is more than confident that it has a player on the roster to step in and further the Hurricanes’ resurgence—of that, Jon Richt, Miami’s quarterbacks coach, left little doubt when discussing upcoming spring ball.
“We think every single one of them can go out there and compete and win us a championship.”
