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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 3, 2018

Mark Richt

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Miami head coach Mark Richt.

COACH RICHT: We got it in today, nice smoking hot day. It's going to be a smoking hot day on Saturday, from what I understand. 3:30 kick. So hottest part of the day. I know both teams are used to the heat. So it shouldn't be that big of a factor one way or another. But it's interesting to see how well you -- how long you can play hard when you're playing a game like this, a big rival game. I know both teams are going to need to sub and those kind of things.

But had a really good practice. I thought the focus was great. I thought our scout teamers did a super job today that they kind of either make it or break it sometimes. And I was pleased with what happened.

Q. You obviously made the decision recently to go with Perry at quarterback. What's different about switching starting quarterbacks than compared to switching starting left guards or (inaudible)?
COACH RICHT: Right. First of all, let's say it's left guard and let's say you have three guys that are pretty good playing guard. You can rotate those guys and we do that. We take Venzell Boulware and he rotates in there with Hayden Mahoney and Jahair Jones and they play about 40 snaps a piece and nobody even thinks about it.

Same thing at tackle. We had D.J. Scaife playing offensive tackle and he's rotating on both sides and giving those guys a break and playing about the same kind of play distribution. So it's easier to not only name a different starter, but roll guys in and out.

And at the QB position it's hard just to roll a guy in there every other series and all that kind of thing. It's just not many times has it ended well when that's happened. That's one of the differences.

The other difference is it's the one position that everybody knows. Even if you don't understand football well you know what a quarterback is. And because of that there's a lot of eyes on that position, a lot of scrutiny one way or the other.

They're like the head coach; they get more credit when things going good and probably too much blame when things go bad. So those are the reasons why it's just a little bit more difficult to make a change at the quarterback position, because it's a leadership position and it's very much out in the forefront.

Q. Is there anything different you have to do in the locker room in terms of making sure chemistry is right or anything like that? Or just do the players, there's not a huge difference in that realm?
COACH RICHT: Well, I think that there are times that it probably could divide a locker room. I don't think that's the case at all here in this particular situation.

I've seen times when guys want to pick sides -- I think he should be the quarterback or I think the other guy should be the quarterback. But I think what we have here is two guys that everybody on the team believes in and knows that either one could do a great job.

And the other thing is when you build a continuity and a camaraderie amongst all the players and everybody's kind of unified, there's a trust factor between the coaches and players and players and coaches. When coaches make changes, you know, the players usually buy in. And that's kind of where we're at right now.

Q. What was your assessment from what you saw from Perry in that game?
COACH RICHT: I thought N'Kosi played very well. He made some beautiful throws. He made some down-the-middle throws. The first pass of the game was a beauty, went right down the middle and hit the receiver on a dead run. And he had a couple of touch passes, one in the red zone area and others throughout the ballgame. Threw some bubbles, threw some slants, threw some down the middle. He had some touch passes in the end zone. I thought he threw well.

There was a couple of misreads. He was looking one side of the field when he should have been looking at the other. At least once on a play that probably would have been an explosive play.

You want to get those back sometimes, if you can. But it happens to everybody, whether you're a veteran or a rookie. But I thought he was comfortable. And I thought that for the most part he made very good decisions and was very accurate.

Q. Wonder your impressions of Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey and what he does for that team?
COACH RICHT: Well, we played him last year. And he's fun to watch. I mean, he is a really -- I don't know how to say it -- he's a very physical quarterback for sure. He doesn't care much about his body when he's running the ball. His quarterback power they'll run, they'll run all kind of stuff, he'll scramble all around and wait a second and throw a strike and get hit right in the mouth and jump right back up and keep going.

He is an energized guy that I think has to have the respect of everybody on that team and the fans, too, because he plays the game like it's his last game. And it's just impressive to see him operate.

Q. What was the reaction on the sidelines last year when he threw that interception and then got the ball back on the same play?
COACH RICHT: Yeah, I didn't like it. But, you know, I do -- I will say I admired it. And it was also -- it kind of drove a point home. We do a lot of ball disruption drills on defense where we'll scoop up fumbles or we'll strip and when we get a pick and we'll work on those things. But I always tell them, once you get the ball you've got to secure the ball. So you become an offensive player.

So, anyway, we get the ball, we get the fumble, whatever it was -- the pick, the fumble, I can't remember which one it was --

Q. It was a pick.
COACH RICHT: Yeah, and then we didn't secure the ball very good. He just reached in there and snatched it out. So I'm, like, that's what I've been trying to tell you guys: Once you get the ball, you've got to become an offensive player and secure it better than they did.

But, yeah, it was -- I didn't like it at the moment. But it was impressive when you go back and watch the film and know that it didn't cost the game. So I can admire it a little bit more than normal.

Q. Considering it was the quarterback, doesn't that make it even more amazing?
COACH RICHT: Well, I'll say this: I played quarterback. And there's something that happens to a quarterback when you throw a pick or you fumble the ball away. When you have a turnover at the quarterback position, you have such a major rush of adrenalin. It's not that shocking that a quarterback would make a good tackle or rip the ball out, because it's just -- I used to use the term, when something like that happens, the quarterback turns green. If you remember the "Incredible Hulk" days, when something bad happened he'd turn green and turn into this guy stronger than normal.

And so quarterbacks, when they throw picks, they tend to turn green and get just a little bit more physical.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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