Despite getting benched for N’Kosi Perry after 3 picks in 3 drives versus the VT Hokies, head coach Manny Diaz said yesterday QB Jarren will remain the starting QB going into practice this week.
However, Williams has been limited in practice so far this week with a shoulder injury, which means the door is open for Perry to start vs. UVA on a short week. According to OC Dan Enos, ultimately, the final decision on who to start will be up to Diaz.
"Coach Diaz will make that decision on what he wants to do, but the big thing coach and I talked about - he wanted to see how Jarren responds,” Enos said. “This is kind of the first adversity he’s faced. I don’t know if there’s an exact formula of how these things work out, but we’ll get a feel for how these two guys prepare this week and how they practice and coach will make a decision that he thinks is best for everyone in the organization.”
In talking about the decision to bench Williams for Perry in the first quarter against Virginia Tech, Enos said the call was more about needing to jumpstart the offense in the moment rather than permanently losing confidence in Williams. Enos went on to praise Perry’s play as well, saying he made the most out of being thrown into a tough situation down 21-0.
“Saturday, we needed a spark, sometimes that has to be the quarterback,” Enos said. “I thought N’Kosi did a really, really good job when he came in… The guy came in during really difficult circumstances, worked his tail off, competed, made a couple of plays out of the pocket, off schedule plays… Of course, then there were four plays in a row where it’s, `What is he doing?’ - he went the wrong way on a bootleg one play, took a sack.”
Referring to the sequence of switching QB’s on Saturday, Enos feels it just proves that the backup QB has to be ready at any time.
“Most (backups) will get an opportunity to play,” Enos said. “You just have to prepare yourself so when you get the opportunity, you’re ready to go.”
Despite Williams being limited in practice, Enos said he felt that the redshirt freshman has bounced back well this week after his poor outing vs. the Hokies.
“He practiced well yesterday, threw very well,” Enos said. “They’re growing pains for young players. He’s had some good games so far, hadn’t thrown an interception yet. Just had a couple of poor plays stack up on him.”
Notably, Perry was much more successful than Williams at stretching the field and going deep in the VT game. However, Enos also insisted that he didn’t call more deep passes because Perry was in, but that it was part of the gameplan from the beginning.
“No, the vertical plan was there from the get-go,” Enos said. “Our plan was to attack them vertically because of the structure they allow.”
However, Williams has been limited in practice so far this week with a shoulder injury, which means the door is open for Perry to start vs. UVA on a short week. According to OC Dan Enos, ultimately, the final decision on who to start will be up to Diaz.
"Coach Diaz will make that decision on what he wants to do, but the big thing coach and I talked about - he wanted to see how Jarren responds,” Enos said. “This is kind of the first adversity he’s faced. I don’t know if there’s an exact formula of how these things work out, but we’ll get a feel for how these two guys prepare this week and how they practice and coach will make a decision that he thinks is best for everyone in the organization.”
In talking about the decision to bench Williams for Perry in the first quarter against Virginia Tech, Enos said the call was more about needing to jumpstart the offense in the moment rather than permanently losing confidence in Williams. Enos went on to praise Perry’s play as well, saying he made the most out of being thrown into a tough situation down 21-0.
“Saturday, we needed a spark, sometimes that has to be the quarterback,” Enos said. “I thought N’Kosi did a really, really good job when he came in… The guy came in during really difficult circumstances, worked his tail off, competed, made a couple of plays out of the pocket, off schedule plays… Of course, then there were four plays in a row where it’s, `What is he doing?’ - he went the wrong way on a bootleg one play, took a sack.”
Referring to the sequence of switching QB’s on Saturday, Enos feels it just proves that the backup QB has to be ready at any time.
“Most (backups) will get an opportunity to play,” Enos said. “You just have to prepare yourself so when you get the opportunity, you’re ready to go.”
Despite Williams being limited in practice, Enos said he felt that the redshirt freshman has bounced back well this week after his poor outing vs. the Hokies.
“He practiced well yesterday, threw very well,” Enos said. “They’re growing pains for young players. He’s had some good games so far, hadn’t thrown an interception yet. Just had a couple of poor plays stack up on him.”
Notably, Perry was much more successful than Williams at stretching the field and going deep in the VT game. However, Enos also insisted that he didn’t call more deep passes because Perry was in, but that it was part of the gameplan from the beginning.
“No, the vertical plan was there from the get-go,” Enos said. “Our plan was to attack them vertically because of the structure they allow.”
