CORAL GABLES — Miami quarterback Jarren Williams got the word that he was going to be the starting quarterback for the Hurricanes, and his first thought wasn’t about celebrating.
Instead, he suddenly realized how big a job he’s just inherited.
Williams’ first college start — his first significant college playing time — comes Saturday, when Miami takes on No. 8 Florida in a long-awaited season-opener for both teams. It will be pressure-packed, a rivalry game before a national television audience in the game that will kick off the 150th season of college football.
“All my hard work has paid off,” Williams said. “And now I’ve got to work even harder.”
Williams was barely more than a practice player last season for Miami, even in a year where the Hurricanes’ passing game struggled mightily. His only appearance was against lower-division Savannah State, where he went 1 for 3 passing for 17 yards and ran for a short touchdown. Yet he did enough this spring and summer to convince new coach Manny Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos that he is Miami’s best hope in 2019.
Most of the attention surrounding the Miami quarterback competition went toward returnee N’Kosi Perry and Ohio State transfer Tate Martell. Williams wasn’t getting many headlines, except from the only evaluators who mattered.
“What separates Jarren is Jarren has a little bit of an instinct,” Diaz said. “Once you get past the arm talent, it’s just an instinct of knowing where to go with the ball and a feel for the game that I think is really different from the other two, and I thought that might’ve been the deciding factor.”
So on one hand, Miami is throwing an inexperienced quarterback into the fray.
On the other, Florida doesn’t know much about Williams either.
“It’s tough preparing for a guy you’ve never seen play,” Florida cornerback Marco Wilson said. “Heard he’s a pretty good quarterback, but he’s also young so we can try to use that to our advantage. I know as a young person it might be tough to play, and definitely at quarterback, so that’s something. We’re going to try to put some pressure on him.”
The Hurricanes know that’ll be the approach the Gators employ, and are working on prepping him as best they can — with hopes that he will remain somewhat cool under fire.
“My message to Jarren is, one play at a time,” Miami offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “He’s going to be juiced up, amped up, whatever word you want to put on it. … But the best way to help Jarren Williams is if the rest of our offense plays well.”
True freshman Zion Nelson has won the job at left tackle, so not only is Miami’s quarterback essentially making his debut but the person primarily tasked with keeping Williams upright is as well. Right tackle John Campbell is a redshirt freshman, and the only senior who’ll likely be on the field for Miami’s first offensive snap is grad transfer K.J. Osborn — who is making his Hurricanes debut.
“Got to get your first start sometime,” Enos said.
For Williams, that time is Saturday.
He learned that he won the job about a week ago, and since then he’s been full-go with Miami’s first-stringers. Martell and Perry are still battling for the backup job, but Williams is getting settled as the new leader of the Hurricanes’ offense.
“I had no idea which direction this was going to go in,” Williams said. “All I could control is what I could control — my effort and my preparedness. When they told me who it was, I was surprised. It was a very big moment for me.”
The Hurricanes hope more big moments are yet to come.
G-A-T-O-R B-A-I-T!!!!
That’s what I’m thinking. Williams is a RS freshmen QB with only three pass attempted to his credit, and will be lining up behind an under-sized, average-talent, freshman-heavy OL and trying to run an new offensive play-book against a veteran Gator defense. If there’s any single mis-match in this game that is glaringly in Florida’s favor, it’s Todd Grantham v.s. their QB Williams.
I see Williams getting rattled very early in this game. All it takes is that first sack or first turnover.
I don’t know much about this kid other than looking at his photo and the fact that he beat out a legend-in-his-own-mind, hotshot, prima donna for the starting job. But looking at his photo, he looks like a smart youngster at least, and he did show somebody sumpin-sumpin to get where he is. He just might surprise us.
His winning of the job almost sounded more like he’s the lesser of 3 evils than him actually winning the job outright by a stellar performance.
Yeah, maybe so.
Don’t worry, kid. After we pants you and take your lunch money, you’ll be facing slow and weak ACC teams that will make life easy for you!
Dabo says “….say whatttt?”
Miami doesn’t play Clemson!
As Marco stated, the key for us is our front seven (or six). If we can apply pressure to this young man and keep him uncomfortable good things will happen. Contain, pressure, make him throw before he really wants to.
Go Gators!
Yup…and one thing our DC does id go after QBs.
He hates ’em like Earnest T. Bass hates them Englishsters!
“Howdy do to you and you. It’s me, it’s me, it’s Ernest T.!”
I still watch that little Rural Free Delivery town, where Mr. Bass could chunk some rocks and try to steal a girl from her beaux, single or otherwise.
One of my hopes/predictions is Williams will be so wired at the start of the game, he will throw high. If our D coaches believe that is a possibility, maybe they employ a third corner, one of the freshmen, and have one of the CBs playing center field for the overthrow.
The LBs and safeties should also be prepared to pick off what Williams might think is a safe toss to the flats.
Our O-line will hold and our D will suffocate the Ibis.
And 6? “You ain’t seen the las’ of Ernest T. Bass!” That’s because he is enrolled at da U!
Him and his true love, Wilmeena?
LOL!!! Sure does 6…
Miami’s OL has one 4* player on it. Their center and both OT’s are freshmen, and one OT is a 2* TRUE FRESHMAN transfer who weights 275 lbs…. and not one player on their OL, or their QB for that matter, have run one single play from their new playbook in a real game situation.
This will be ugly for Miami by the third quarter.
It or defense life up to the standard. He will feel the chomp. And awe the game progresses he’ll fear the chomp. With Grantham’s attacking style he’ll he Prested throughout the game. I’d look for multiple QBs from them even though it’s not their style.
Damn phone spell check.. If our defense lives up to the standard. And as not awe. pressed not Prested.
I think this game is going to set up nice. We should have a bit of a crowd advantage. The OL sounds to be about as inexperienced as ours and their QB is way inexperienced compared to ours. They may be better at LB but I’ll take our secondary. DL’s may be a push. Our special teams is likely the best combo in the SEC. Our backs and WRs are second to none. We gotta win this game!
No dumb attacks!
Their OL is much more inexperienced than our’s. Our top 6 or 7 OL have been in the same system and S&C program for an entire season, two spring and two Fall camps. Four of our new OL starters are mostly back-ups from last year who’ve had a lot of playing time.
Miami is bringing an undersized, freshman-heavy OL into this game who’ve never talen a snap in their new offense in a real game situation.
This situation is setting up well for the Florida defense to contribute points that won’t be needed.
I predict we’ll see 2-3 Miami and 2-3 Florida QBs in this one.
2-3 from Miami out of sheer desperation, I hope, while 2-3 for us just for shyts and giggles.
“national television audience”…close, over 40 million homes done get cable and dont get ESPN. A true national audience is on broadcast TV where everyone can see it!
It’s nationally televised.
How many of those are sports fans, though? Somebody into college football like us guys either has ESPN or will watch it at somebody else’s house……I’d be willing to bet all of 65’s and Rog’s money on it, plus all your winnings from last year!
……. so says 6 as Rog scrambles for his piggy bank…..where is that danged thing anyway…….
So you just lost, because I dont have cable, so alot of sports fans dont want to spend those rediculously high fees for something we would only use during football season and only on saturday! We watch almost no TV, too busy, but when we do, it’s broadcast, online or by disc. I have no plans to go out on a saturday night to sit in someone elses house till late, to see a game. I may still see it, I have my ways!!! It’s all about the benjamins to the SEC and not about their fans!
But you’re the one and only Daz Wazlle, walking to the beat of your own drum as it were, and if anything driven by logic. I wouldn’t call you a typical sports fan.
I think we would want to do to this kid what Muschamp ( yes he did get some things right) to Johnny Manzell the second half of our game against him: keep him in the pocket, don’t let him use his escapability to break down the D and make him be a pocket passer. Sacks would be great but I think we can mess with him without getting a lot of sacks.
Thing is, Williams isn’t even their best runner, he’s more of a pocket passer. As for Manzeil, he only managed to run around on us in the first half and then we shut him down after that.
I’ve been told by a couple of online friends who know Williams that he’s a good kid, and it almost makes me feel sorry for him for what’s going to happen to him Saturday night, because he is going to get PUNISHED by our pass rush.
He’s got only three pass attempts to his resume’, 1 of 3 for 17 yards (in Mark Richt’s offense), and he’s going to opening up Saturday night running another entirely different play-book against a potentially top 15 Todd Grantham – led defense.
Add to that, he’ll have a redshirt freshman OT on one side, a redshirt freshman center who was injured almost the entire spring and who will be taking his first snaps as a starter against UF, and on the other end, a 2* transfer TRUE FRESHMAN OT who weights only 275 lbs. who will facing our deep, talented, veteran Buck position.
Zuniga, Greenard, Carter, and Moon are going to eat Miami’s OT’s alive in this game, and I mean it won’t be pretty when they sack Williams six or seven times and are constantly in his face and pressuring him. I expect him to get rattled early and start making a lot of mistakes behind an OL with only one 4* recruit that won’t be able to protect him.