Emory Williams, a freshman quarterback for Miami football, passed his first exam as a starter in college, and his head coach Mario Cristobal was all praise for him. Furthermore, it wasn’t just any test—last Saturday’s matchup with Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers was noteworthy.
The Miami football sideline manager praised Williams, saying, “He went through his progressions extremely well” (h/t Sam Gillenwater of On3). Since we primarily operate as a huddle, he explained the play calls. He was also quite good at communicating when we weren’t huddled together. “There was no communication problem,” continued Cristobal, the head coach of Miami football since 2022. He made a lot of decisions. Earlier, someone batted him some balls. As a rookie quarterback, you might not always find your passing path, in my opinion. He became more at ease as the game progressed. I felt like he was really getting settled in. He made some pretty impressive throws.
Tyler Van Dyke was injured and will not play under center for Clemson, therefore Williams was selected to start. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 151 yards and a score, with one interception. At the end of the third quarter, Miami football appeared to be headed for its third straight defeat as the Hurricanes were behind Clemson by ten points. However, Williams and the Canes put together a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to force overtime, which Miami won 28-20.
Van Dyke’s availability to play in this Saturday’s Miami football game against the Virginia Cavaliers is still unknown. In either case, Williams will be far more assured and prepared to play if his club decides to start him again in place of Van Dyke.
