Mark Richt summons the words of Teddy Roosevelt (and Reggie Jackson) regarding critics
University of Miami coach Mark Richt apparently is a fan of President Teddy Roosevelt’s — or at least a fan of one of Roosevelt’s speeches.
Richt acknowledged to WQAM host Joe Rose on Monday that he is, indeed, evaluating everything from personnel and schemes to play-calling after UM’s 16-13 loss at Virginia, and that “you’ve got to soul search.’’
“I think everybody’s got to do that and make sure that whatever responsibility they’re in charge of that they’re doing the very best they can. ...And then if things gotta be changed, change them. If things just gotta get done better, then set it up where you can get better at it.’’
When Richt was asked by Rose about high fan expectations and how he handles the criticism that can get “pretty ugly,’’ the Hurricanes coach summoned inspiration from the past.
“It’s like Reggie Jackson said, ‘They don’t boo nobodies.’’’
“That’s part of the business,’’ Richt said of the fan wrath. “Coach Bowden, one of the first things he said to the staff every year was loyalty was No. 1. And No. 2: If you can’t take criticism, get out of the business.
“If you’ve read Theodore Roosevelt’s speech about “daring greatly,’’ that kind of sums it up, so look that up.”
We did.
Here is the excerpt from the speech of which Richt spoke, delivered by Roosevelt on April 23, 1910, at the Sorbonne in Paris, France:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
QUARTERBACK STARTER
Regarding the quarterback situation, Richt would not divulge who the starter would be for another nationally televised road game at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at Boston College (5-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). The now unranked Hurricanes (5-2, 2-1) are off this weekend , as is Boston College, and Richt said he believes N’Kosi Perry “will be fine” mentally after being replaced by Malik Rosier at Virginia.
“He knows we have a high regard for him and we think he’s going to be a really great one one day,’’ Richt said of Perry. “He is a guy that we’re going to continue to [develop] and he has got a great career ahead of him. He knows that. We talked to him about that. It’s never easy but that’s part of the criteria of being a quarterback. Can you hit your target? Can you make good decisions? Can you handle the pressure of the job? And sometimes living it out in a situation like that is tough.
“But that’s what you’ve got to develop – mental toughness.”
Other Richt notables on WQAM:
▪ Personnel wise, sophomore Navaughn Donaldson, who switched from right tackle to right guard Saturday, will stay at guard. Freshman D.J. Scaife, who made his first career start at right tackle, will remain there. “I think DJ Scaife did enough good things as a tackle,’’ Richt said. “Left side it will be pretty much status quo.”
▪ The offensive line had “more issues up front than you’d like to have,’’ but “our perimeter blocking again let us down.’’