Most Hurricane fans are optimistic about the 2017 season (not Smokey, of course). The one position that dampens our optimism is the QB position, a position that is arguably the most important in the sport. Can N’Kosi Perry do what Brady Kaaya did just 3 years ago and win the starting job? I’ll try and answer this question by comparing N’Kosi Perry to Brady Kaaya coming out of High School.
(Disclaimer: Most of this piece is pure speculation/conjecture. The aim of this piece is to provide some parameters/categories by which we can evaluate N’Kosi coming into college and compare him with our last True Freshman QB to win the starting job. If there are other key variables I failed to include, discuss them below. If you think I’m wrong, tell me why. I’m just trying to generate some discussion.)
A. Productivity and Efficiency (Advantage N’Kosi)
(Disclaimer: I’m not considering surrounding talent, level of competition, offensive system, and competency of the OC. These are probably all variables that significantly effect the metrics looked at below.)
Overall: Coming out of High School, N’kosi is actually the QB that was more efficient, although Brad was more productive. Kaaya's greater production, however, stems from his more numerous attempts, not from his overall effectiveness.
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QB Rating Senior Season: Bard-116.3, N’Kosi-130.5
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Completion Percentage: B-.62 (224/361), N-.646 (106/164)
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Total Passing Yards: B- 3,855 (240.0 y/g), N- 1,778 (177/8 y/g)
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TD/Int: B- 27/6, 24/4 (Bard had less INT’s/attempt, 'Kosi more TD’s/attempt)
This is kind of a mixed bag, but I’ll give the nod to N’kosi here, who was more efficient in high school than Brad, with a better completion percentage and QB rating. However, Kaaya was way more productive (more throwing attempts), which means more experience/reps. However, one reason for the big discrepancy in total yards above is that Kaaya played 6 more games (16) than N’Kosi (10) his senior year. **One question I’m interested in knowing the answer to is how did N’Kosi fare against ‘tough’ competition vs. Kaaya against tough competition? Those stats are probably more indicative of Freshman success than the total stats I used above.**
B. (Football) IQ (Advantage Brad?)
This is mainly speculation and not a knock on N’Kosi at all. The reason I give Brad the nod here is because there just simply aren’t many QBs with the intelligence and IQ that Kaaya purportedly possessed. Kaaya had a 4.0 GPA coming out of High School. He also had the highest Wonderlic test score of all the QB’s in the NFL draft this year. Could it be that N’Kosi is smarter? Yes. Could it be that N’Kosi has a better ‘Football’ IQ? Sure, but I wouldn’t bet on either.
Why does this matter? I would argue that this is one of the most important variables because I think it directly correlates with the time it takes a QB to pick up/sufficiently master the playbook and adjust to the more complex college defenses, the two biggest hurdles a Freshman QB has to overcome, imo. Kosi could have all the talent in the world, but if he can’t grasp the nuances of our offense, which is probably a very hard thing to do in such a short period of time, he simply can’t adequately perform.
Quote: On a recruiting visit to UM, Coley recalled, Kaaya took out his notebook in an offensive staff meeting. Coley had seen that before. But what really surprised him was that, in subsequent phone calls, Kaaya “would speak in our language … like, ‘I saw you guys hit Rodeo against Florida,’ ” Coley said. “I knew right then and there, this is a different kid.”
C. Dedication/Preparation/Maturity (Advantage Brad?)
This is total speculation and again not a knock on N’Kosi at all. I say advantage Brad, using the same reasoning above. There just simply aren’t that many income Freshman QB’s that possessed the maturity and dedication that Kaaya supposedly displayed. I linked a few articles below that specifically talk about this. This level of dedication and preparation, in combination with natural intelligence, is probably what secured him the job. One other factor that I think is worth mentioning is that Kaaya had a private QB coach, Rudy Carpenter, which probably greatly aided him in learning the playbook and fine-tuning his mechanics.
Link (1)
UM freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya prepared for journey ahead - Sun Sentinel
Link (2)
Hurricanes QB Brad Kaaya impresses with preparedness,...
D. Mechanics (No Idea?)
Kaaya was generally praised for his mechanics (throwing motion, plant-foot, shoulder angles, etc.) coming into college. As mentioned above, Kaaya also had a private instructor. Someone who knows QBs and has watched both of their films can probably comment on this better than I can.
E. Weight (Advantage Brad)
Brad was well over 200 lbs coming into college, N’Kosi is around 185 lbs. Although this probably isn’t a significant variable imo, but rather more so a durability question. Can N'Kosi hold up
if he wins the job?
F. Competition (Advantage Brad)
Brad was competing against a grad transfer, Heaps, who also had to learn the offense from scratch. On the other hand, Rosier is probably more talented than Heaps and has been in the system for a year. N'Kosi has a greater uphill battle than Kaaya IMO.
Summary: It’s extremely hard to win the starting QB job as a Freshman. Brad was probably a more finished product coming into college than N’kosi. He also possessed the intelligence and dedication necessary to learn the playbook and quickly adapt to college football. I’d say based on the variables above, Brad was better situated to win the starting role than N’kosi is now. Perhaps, however, Perry’s greater ability and talent will allow him to compensate.
