Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry ran for 2,017 yards in 2019. Only Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard ran for more in the FBS.
Perry isn’t likely to play quarterback in the NFL, having passed for only 1,084 yards last season.
So Perry is playing receiver in the East-West Shrine Game.
“Whatever it takes,” Perry said Monday, via Andy Fenelon of NFL Media. “Anything that gets the ball in my hands, anything that keeps me on the field.”
Perry wanted to play running back at Tennessee out of high school, but the Volunteers were loaded at the position and never offered a scholarship. So Perry went to Navy and struggled to find a position, trying slot back, quarterback and kick returner.
He found a home this season, become the first FBS quarterback in history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
Now, Perry will try to find a new home.
Buccaneers offensive assistant Antwaan Randle El, who converted from college quarterback to NFL receiver, is helping coach Perry this week.
“I had Terance Mathis, who was with the Steelers when I first got there, and Hines Ward. Those guys started teaching me routes,” Randle El said. “He just needs to figure it all out, and I think he will because he’s such a smart kid.”