Mario Cristobal evaluates play of Emory Williams in start vs. Clemson

With Miami starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke out due to a right hand injury, true freshman Emory Williams got the nod at quarterback for the Hurricanes against Clemson.

The decision to go with the true freshman versus the Tigers paid off for head coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes. Williams paced the Miami offense with 151 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception as the Hurricanes defeated Clemson in double overtime, 28-20.

“We knew that this was going to be a tough challenge for him,” Cristobal said after the game. “Clemson’s an excellent defense. I believe they were first in the conference or whatnot. But the speed of their defense is very challenging. We figured that early on there was going to be an adjustment and you saw we had some batted balls. We had some throws that were a little bit late. The line protected him fairly well. They got in there a couple of times, hit his arm or whatnot.

“But as the game went on and on, he just settled in. He’s a very urgent guy. He approaches everything with a ton of urgency. In camp, he won the confidence of a lot of our players, our entire quarterback room. Our players really played hard for him and for each other. They were just convicted on not letting him or each other down.”

Williams — who participated in the 2022 Elite 11 Finals — was a three-star commit coming out of Milton (Fla.) High. He was the No. 629 overall recruit and No. 36 quarterback in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

This year’s team still belongs to Van Dyke, who has thrown for 1,721 passing yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. But Williams displayed the confidence and skill needed for a potential Miami quarterback of the future versus Clemson.

Williams said Van Dyke was great with providing help and guidance during the game.

“Anytime I came off to the sideline, he was, ‘Hey, this is kind of what I saw,’ and I told him about some things I did,” Williams said. “He was like, ‘Eh, you know,’ and he was right. I’m glad he was there because I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did without him.”