CORAL GABLES, Fla. _ When the season started earlier this month, only one quarterback on the Miami Hurricanes' roster _ redshirt senior Malik Rosier _ had played in a college football game.
After big wins over Savannah State and Toledo, that's changed.
Redshirt freshman N'Kosi Perry, who has been taking the majority of reps behind Rosier during the limited practice time reporters are allowed to watch the Hurricanes work, saw playing time against both the Tigers and Rockets. Fellow redshirt freshman Cade Weldon and Jarren Williams also both got on the field during Miami's 77-0 win over Savannah State.
And with the Hurricanes continuing to roll through a portion of their schedule where they'll be heavy favorites in a few more games, Mark Richt conceded on Monday that it may be time to see what some of those younger quarterbacks can do in competition versus practice.
"There's no doubt (they're getting better)," Richt said of his young quarterbacks Monday during his weekly radio appearance with WQAM-560's Joe Rose. "They really are at the point where you can't learn a lot more about them until you get them in a game. But also, if you throw a guy in there and he has one little hiccup ... when a quarterback has a hiccup, it's a pick-six and it changes the momentum of a game and all of a sudden, we're in a barn-burner.
"You just want to make sure the timing is right, but somewhere along the line, I've got to ... like a bird kicks the (young bird) out of the nest and makes them fly, it's about that time."
Though Richt hasn't formally indicated that Perry is the Hurricanes' No. 2 quarterback behind Rosier, every indication points to the fact he is.
It was Perry who first entered Miami's blowout win over Savannah State behind Rosier and it was Perry, and only Perry, that played behind Rosier in the 49-24 win over Toledo.
Rosier started Miami's first drive of the fourth quarter with Miami up 11. After the Hurricanes added touchdowns on their next two possessions, Richt gave the ball to Perry, sending him out for a drive that resulted in a punt and for the final drive of the game.
After the win, Richt acknowledged he was concerned about Toledo's ability to put together a comeback, which was why he was hesitant to take Rosier out of the game earlier. The veteran quarterback accounted for a career-high five touchdowns in the victory and was 13-of-23 for 205 yards with two touchdown passes. He also ran for scores of 5, 2 and 37 yards.
"I thought he played really good. I was proud of him," Richt said of Rosier after the game. "We thought about putting N'Kosi in a little bit earlier in that game. But it just kept staying too tight for my gut. If I wasn't such an old guy that's been through just about everything, I might have put him in sooner. You just never know when a game can turn very rapidly, especially against a team that can score points like that. So, I held off."
The Hurricanes, who held on to the No. 21 spot in this week's AP Top 25 rankings, are an early 28-point favorite against FIU this weekend. And they'll likely be a heavy favorite again when they open ACC play against a struggling North Carolina team on Sept. 27.
If the Hurricanes (2-1) play well in those games, it seems Richt is inclined to give his reserves _ across the field _ more playing time.
