CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At the end of Mark Richt's tenure at Georgia, the team's most glaring weakness seemed pretty obvious. The Bulldogs could not quite figure out the quarterback position, a situation that was amplified when Deshaun Watson began his star turn at Clemson.

Though Watson grew up in Georgia, Richt and his staff got on him too late. That decision sealed both their fortunes -- Watson won a national championship, and Richt lost his job at Georgia and ended up at Miami. This time around, targeting a quarterback had to be a priority.

Little did Richt know he already had one in the Class of 2017.

Freshman quarterback N'Kosi Perry has all the tools to be a dynamic dual-threat QB for Mark Richt. Tom Hauck for Student Sports

N'Kosi Perry had committed to former coach Al Golden, and his upside as a dual-threat quarterback screamed future game-changer. An ESPN 300 prospect out of Ocala, Florida, Perry was tall and thin, with a quick burst and strong arm.

Richt had not recruited Perry at Georgia. But once he flicked on the recruiting tape to evaluate whether Perry could be a fit with his vision for the offense, Richt had his answer.

"He's a very dynamic playmaker -- could run, could throw, seemed to have good touch, could throw it deep, could zip it if he needed to -- just all the fundamental things you want to see," Richt said. "I knew he was tall and skinny and probably would have to get a little thicker. Other than that, I was like, 'This guy has got a lot of ability.'"

Richt wanted him. But Perry had to decide whether he still wanted Miami. Golden had worked years developing his trust. Now that he was gone, Perry needed time to think. He decommitted from Miami for a brief time, then the work began to get to know Richt and his new staff.

"We had to earn his trust," Richt said. "We had to get him on campus, help him understand how I feel about him as the head coach and play-caller and quarterbacks coach, along with [assistant Jon Richt]. I wanted him to know that this staff wanted you -- not just Miami wanted you. I think that meant a lot to him."

Perry signed in February as the No. 3-rated quarterback in the nation, and it was irresistible to avoid the comparisons. It had been years since Richt coached a dual-threat quarterback, and the one that got away from him at Georgia was a ... dual-threat quarterback.

But beyond the idea that Perry and Watson can run and throw, there are not as many similarities.

In Watson, Clemson got a more polished player out of high school with a more physical presence, and a more physical game. He enrolled early, with outsized hype and expectations that only grew after an impressive spring.

Though there are plenty of expectations on Perry, Richt has tried to temper those. Especially since Perry arrived in May and has yet to take a snap in practice. But Richt himself has repeatedly said Perry will be given every opportunity to win the starting job as he begins to compete with Malik Rosier and Evan Shirreffs.

Since getting onto campus, Perry has met with the coaching staff a few times a week and is participating in seven-on-seven drills with teammates. Rosier and Shirreffs have been a big help, but at this point Richt simply says Perry is just learning. Until Perry can get onto the field, there is no way to truly tell whether he is ready to shoulder the responsibility as the starter.

Richt has not started many true freshmen, pointing to Matthew Stafford at Georgia as his best example. Miami recently played one in Brad Kaaya, who started for three years under Golden. Richt does not necessarily endorse the idea that a true freshman sets the foundation for the future at the position because he provides stability, saying, "It’s whoever plays well, runs the team well, leads well on and off the field. You want a guy you can trust. I don't care what year he is."

There also is a balancing act, too, in how games are called and managed.

"You can go simple enough [with the playbook] where he understands everything completely, but if the simplicity makes you too easy to defend, you're not helping the quarterback or the run game or anybody else," Richt said. "You have to do what you do and hope that as he's learning, there's not too many losses along the way. You can make mistakes and still win games. Even Charlie Ward as a redshirt junior had a learning curve once he got in those games. He struggled those first four games and, after that, he became the best player in America.

"When you learn to ride a bike, you fall down. When you learn to play quarterback, you fall down, you make mistakes. And if you're making the mistakes in front of millions of people on national TV it's not as easy as making your mistakes in practice when no one's watching or at least not the public, so there are going to be mistakes by young players or even inexperienced players. Hopefully you can limit those and play good enough defense and special teams."

Richt says he doesn’t want to put pressure on Perry or his other incoming freshman quarterback, Cade Weldon (son of Casey Weldon, whom Richt coached at Florida State). But Richt doesn't have to say anything for the pressure to be on -- especially at a place like Miami, with history and tradition at the position and an expectation that championships must be won.