Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hurricanes safety, star recruit Williams out for season
Miami Hurricanes freshman and star recruit Avantae Williams — the No. 1 safety in the 2020 recruiting class — will miss his first season.
“During Avantae’s preseason exam, he presented some chronic and lingering medical issues that our medical staff feels we need to let heal, let it strengthen this fall,” UM coach Manny Diaz said Tuesday. “We will reevaluate him come January and the spring time, so Avantae will not compete this fall.”
He was ranked as high as the No. 1 safety nationally by Rivals. Williams, who starred at DeLand High in Central Florida, chose the Hurricanes over the Florida Gators in a National Signing Day announcement in February.
“My disappointment is for Avantae,” Diaz said. “Because he loves football. He has been an amazing football player since the first time he ever put on a helmet. It’s just difficult for him to have the season taken away from him.
“He would do anything to be out there with his guys. We all feel for him, but we know that we definitely can help him get into the semester, get him with [strength and conditioning coordinator David] Feeley, and do anything we
can to get him right.”
Williams (6 feet, 180 pounds) possibly would have had an opportunity to get himself into rotational play as a secondteam player in the secondary.
Miami has three veteran safeties that will see a majority of playing time in senior Amari Carter, junior Gurvan Hall and redshirt junior Bubba Bolden. Hall was second on the team with 66 tackles last season. Bolden, a USC transfer, has recovered from an ankle injury he suffered while celebrating his first interception with UM in last November’s win over Florida State.
The Hurricanes have three other freshman safeties from the past recruiting class in Keshawn Washington, Jalen Harrell and Brian Balom. Washington was an early enrollee and participated in spring drills.