South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Hurricanes’ dinged-up DBs Stevenson, Williams start against Florida State
TALLAHASSEE — Despite both ailing entering the matchup, Miami Hurricanes cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and safety James Williams started against Florida State on Saturday at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.
Both Stevenson and Williams were momentarily checked out by the team’s trainers during Miami’s win over Georgia Tech last Saturday, with Williams missing several plays against the Yellow Jackets due to an apparent upper-body injury.
Stevenson and Williams were both seen wearing red, non-contact jerseys during the portion of this past Tuesday’s practice that was open to the media, with coach Manny Diaz saying “they’re both fine,” and that both “fully” practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“That was just your normal bumps and bruises after the game,” Diaz added.
Stevenson, a third-year sophomore who transferred from Georgia during the offseason, has been Miami’s top cornerback and has the majority of snaps in each game this season, while Williams, a true freshman out of American Heritage in Plantation, has started in seven of 10 games.
Stevenson was wearing black sleeves on his right leg and right shoulder, while Williams wore a black sleeve on his left arm.
Williams appeared to have hurt his groin during an FSU drive midway through the second quarter, but he returned to the game on the Seminoles’ next possession.
He aggravated the groin injury with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter. Williams hobbled toward UM’s sideline before trainers checked him
out on the field, with Williams missing the rest of the half after gingerly walking out of bounds.
Second-year safety Avantae Williams replaced James Williams for the rest of the half.
The lone change to Miami’s defensive starters had DJ Ivey Jr. replacing Marcus Clarke at cornerback. Clarke had started the previous two games.
Starting defensive tackle Jonathan Ford sustained a lower-body injury toward the end of the first quarter and missed the remainder of the first half after being helped by trainers to Miami’s locker room.
Recruiting pitch: Saturday’s rivalry battle extended off the field, too.
Multiple Miami fans who traveled to Tallahassee brought a poster that said “#WesleyToTheU, Made in Dade — Stayed in Dade” in reference to Miami Central linebacker Wesley Bissainthe.
Bissainthe, a four-star prospect who’s attended multiple UM home games this season, is one of the Hurricanes’ top targets. He
attended Saturday’s game, with Florida State also expected to be a finalist for his commitment.
Bissainthe is ranked as the No.
17 linebacker high school prospect in the nation, 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
Nyjalik Kelly, a four-star defensive lineman out of Dillard, is another Miami top-target who attended Saturday’s game, according to 247Sports. He’s watched a few of Miami’s games this season at Hard Rock Stadium.
Kelly is ranked as the No. 87 high school prospect nationally and No. 13 defensive lineman in the country for the 2022 class by
247Sports’ Composite rankings. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound lineman had multiple visits with Miami over the summer.
Norvell coaching: Saturday marked the first time second-year Florida State coach Mike Norvell was able to be on the sidelines for a matchup against the Hurricanes.
Novell missed Miami’s 52-10 blowout win over the Seminoles due to testing positive for COVID19 a week before the game.