Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz shared the latest on the reinstatement process of safety Avantae Williams on Monday.
Williams, a second year freshman, was dismissed from the team after being arrested and charged for battery of his pregnant ex-girlfriend in late July.
On Friday all the charges against Williams were dropped by the state’s attorney office.
Following the dropped charges, Williams released the following statement on Twitter: “Thanks be to God that the truth came out and all charges against me were dropped. As the father of a daughter and son I will always focus on my responsibility to set the right example of how women should be treated. In the future, I want to help others who face false charges.”
Now that the charges have been dropped, will Manny Diaz give Williams a chance to be reinstated with the program?
Following Monday’s practice, Diaz shared where things stand with reinstating Williams.
“Well right now we’re trying to get all the official documents, you know, to find out where things are,” Diaz said. “So we’re gonna explore all the alternatives that are available so that, like I said, we’re trying to get the documents in so we can have all the information so that the decision makers can make the best decision with all the information available”
Williams entered the NCAA Transfer Portal soon after he was dismissed from the UM program.
Going into the 2021 season, Williams projected to be a part of Miami’s rotation, and likely a starter, at the safety position after an impressive showing during the month of spring football.
Williams was held out of action during the 2020 season due to an undisclosed medical condition. He was cleared to participate during the spring.
It didn’t take long for Williams to impress UM head coach Manny Diaz with his talent during the spring, comparing him to a Jaelan Phillips-like talent.
“You think about him being two practices into his college career and when you ask the question about him, I think about Jaelan Phillips a year ago,” Diaz said early during the month of spring football. “We barely saw anything in four days and he of course had the season that he had. I am not saying Avantae is going to do the same thing Jaelan did because it is really early for Avantae.
“He plays 100 miles per hour. When Avantae is on the field, the pedal is pushed down through the floorboard. That is encouraging, because he goes full speed. Now he might not be always going the right direction when going full speed, but that is why they call us coach and we will get him turning the right way.”
Williams was working with the first team defense during Miami’s spring game. The Hurricanes return a starting trio of safeties in Bubba Bolden, Gurvan Hall, and Amari Carter, who is now focusing on the striker position.
Former five-star recruit, James Williams, is also on the roster and fellow true freshman Kamren Kinchens has also impressed during fall camp.
Williams, a native of Deland, Florida, was UM’s top signee as a recruit out of the 2020 class. He ranked as the No. 45 overall player in the country.
