It’s a ‘topsy-turvy’ QB world at the University of Miami, as the Hurricanes prep for FSU
Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Dan Enos gushed about both his quarterbacks Monday, then conceded that the quarterback room “has been a little topsy-turvy’’ this season.
Jarren Williams, who replaced N’Kosi Perry midway through the fourth quarter Saturday at Pittsburgh to lead the Hurricanes to victory with the game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute, responded beautifully under plenty of stress at Heinz Field.
“I don’t think people realize how difficult those circumstances are,’’ Enos said. “I mean, it was literally cold — rain and cold. Like, really cold. But he did a tremendous job. He came in and threw strikes. You could see that his arm was back. And the way the ball was coming out of his hand was exceptional — touch, timing, anticipation. I can’t stress enough how difficult that was and how proud of him I am at the way he responded and led his team.’’
Perry, who started the past three games after Williams won the starting job in fall camp but injured his throwing shoulder early in the season, was a warrior who put his team above his own injured body and cheered for Williams on the sideline.
“You want to talk about a guy that put his team ahead of his own health and is going out there and battled,’’ Enos said of Perry, who separated his left shoulder the previous week against Georgia Tech. “I mean, this guy is, I can’t say enough about N’Kosi Perry’s toughness, how courageous he is, and how much he cares about this football team that he would keep going out there.”
Added Enos: “And here’s the great thing: Jarren was cheering for N’Kosi during the game on the sidelines, and then when we took N’Kosi out, I didn’t see one pout, not one frown, not one roll of the eyes — and then he was encouraging Jarren. And N’Kosi was one of the happiest guys in the locker room after the game as well, so I think that speaks a lot of testament to both of their characters.”
So right now, on the outside it appears to be a draw as to who will start for UM (4-4, 2-3) Saturday at Florida State (4-4, 3-3), because, naturally, coach Manny Diaz said he won’t announced it until at least Wednesday. Last week he waited until Friday.
On the inside, the coaches likely are leaning toward one of the players, but both said they’ll wait to see how each prepares and responds in this week’s practices. One sure factor is that Williams skipped practice last Wednesday, though he said after the Pitt game he’d rather keep that situation “in-house’’ and would only say he was committed to the program.
Williams has played in seven games, completing 94 of 135 passes (69.6 percent) for 1,136 yards and eight touchdowns, with three interceptions.
Perry has played in five games, completing 77 of 136 passes (56.6) for 975 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions.
“We have two guys that we know we can win with,’’ Diaz said Monday. “And N’Kosi’s preparation last week compared to Jarren’s preparation, there was only one choice of who could start at quarterback for us in the Pitt game. Now, what a great thing to still have Jarren when it wasn’t going well and we felt like we had to make some better throws and catches.’’
As for third-string quarterback Tate Martell, who was converted to a wide receiver, he was announced as having a medical leave of absence for the Pitt game, but returned to practice Sunday night, Diaz said, and will be dressed for the FSU game.
“Again, the room has been a little topsy-turvy, if you will,’’ Enos said. “But Tate was in a good place last night, and we’re here to support him. That’s the other thing about college coaching is that these young men are young men, and we’re helping them not only become better players but obviously trying to help them in all aspects of their life.
“And, certainly, it’s good to have Tate back. He’s a great young man and very talented, but he seemed like he was in a good spot last night, so we’ll just continue to work with him.”
Enos reiterated that “developing quarterbacks is physical, it’s mental and it’s emotional... And this really has been a challenge as far as dealing with these guys on a day-to-day basis — you know, one day somebody’s up, one day somebody’s injured. And then the other that’s injured, he’s not playing.
“Jarren wasn’t playing for a while. I’m trying to keep him into it. N’Kosi wasn’t named the starter at the beginning, and he was a starter last year. And I’m trying to make sure that he’s ready to go if his opportunity comes.
“We have these discussions all the time in the meeting room. I try to set a culture in the quarterback meeting that it’s preparation, it’s mindset, it’s you never know when it’s gonna be your turn. These are unique experiences that we’ve gone through this year and it has been challenging, but one thing that I’m really proud of is the way our offense has stayed very cohesive.”
NOTABLES
▪ Diaz said the Hurricanes are “optimistic” about the return of running back DeeJay Dallas (knee) and linebacker Michael Pinckney (apparent knee) Saturday at FSU. Both were injured in Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech.
▪ Diaz said receiver Jeff Thomas, who has been suspended for the past two games, will be back this week. “Hopefully, if things go well this week,” Diaz said, “we’ll have everybody available on Saturday.”
▪ The ACC announced that UM’s final home game Nov. 9 against Louisville will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be aired on either ESPN2 or the ACC Network.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 4:30 PM.
