CORAL GABLES – Charles Perry has always sought to do things the right way.
The humble yet productive Miami (Fla.) junior linebacker may not have a starting role at this time. But instead of letting that get to him, Perry uses this as fuel to make continuous and necessary improvements at his position.
In Perry’s sophomore season, he recorded 12 tackles (4 solo) and a forced fumble in 12 games played. His best game last year was against Notre Dame (Oct. 29, 2016), when he notched three tackles and his first forced fumble for the Hurricanes.
While those statistics are pretty good on paper and overall for the Royal Palm Beach 2015 alum, it admittedly paled in comparison to what the current starting linebacker trio of Shaquille Quartermann, Michael Pinckney, and Zach McCloud achieved as a group. Both Quartermann and Pinckney were selected as Freshman All-Americans, while McCloud (Santaluces 2016 alum) worked his way into the regular starting rotation and garnered a stat line of 37 tackles (18 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and a blocked kick on special teams.
With those objective measures in place, Perry is simply looking ahead to his junior season at Miami.
“You can expect me to play a whole lot more than I did last year,” the 6-1, 220-pound linebacker said. “I know the playbook way better than I did last year. I know the adjustments of our defense, and I know what needs to be done so I could do my job.”
Throughout the course of a given season, anything can happen. What Perry certainly provides is a level of depth to Miami’s defense, which is projected to emerge as one of the nation’s best units this fall.
“I have to buckle down and focus on what I need to do,” Perry said. “I can’t let outside noise get in.”
The entire Miami college football program aims do just that, as the five-time national champion has been picked by pundits to win the ACC Coastal Division and play in the ACC Championship Game for the first time this season. Miami is ranked as the nation’s No. 18 team in the preseason College Football Consensus Top 25.
“We can do it,” Perry said. “It’s (the ACC Coastal Division) is wide open. Nobody really left our program (15 returning starters; entire front seven remains intact), except for our back four (secondary; cornerbacks and safeties). We have all the tools to do what we gotta do. We lost some close games last season that can turn into wins now. We have what it takes to push for the ACC title.”
Another thing that gets Perry excited is the fact Miami has eight players on the roster from Palm Beach County. It consists of himself, McCloud, freshmen Amari Carter (safety; Palm Beach Gardens 2017 alum) and Jonathan Garvin (defensive end; Lake Worth 2017 alum), sophomores Travis Homer (running back; Oxbridge Academy 2016 alum) and Ahmmon Richards (wide receiver; Freshman All-American; Wellington 2016 alum), redshirt junior Darrell Langham (wide receiver; Santaluces 2014 alum) and senior Kc McDermott (offensive lineman; Palm Beach Central 2014 alum).
“I love Palm Beach County”, Perry said. “We’re coming up. We’re doing everything we gotta do to put Palm Beach County on the map.”
Perry said he’s looking forward to the contributions of freshmen defenders Carter and Garvin, who are projected to see varying levels of playing time this season.
“They’re both doing their thing right now,” Perry said. “Amari (Carter) could be starting at safety. He’s coming down with big hits on the field. He’s bringing in a lot of noise. And (Jonathan) Garvin is making an impact as well. If they continue to learn the playbook, they’ll be something to be reckoned with.”
Perry has two seasons of eligibility left at Miami. He plans to leave his mark on the rising program in a meaningful way.
“I’m making the best of my experience here”, Perry said. “I’m getting my education and doing whatever I need to do on and off the field.”
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