Mario Cristobal confirms that Emory Williams will be Miami's starting quarterback Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal isn't one to reveal his cards when he doesn't have to, especially when it comes to roster management but even the secretive coach couldn't hide it any longer.
"Emory [Williams] is going to be the starting quarterback going in. Nick [Vattiato] is going to compete, he's going to get a lot of reps, and he's a really good player."
Williams made his first start of the season last week, leading Miami to a win over rival Florida State after replacing Vattiato who threw seven interceptions in the previous three games.
"He handled last week like a pro," Cristobal said of Vattiato at Monday's press conference. "He has the confidence of his teammates and his coaches."
In two games this year, Williams is completing seventy-eight percent of his passes, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt and had thrown four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Miami hosts Louisville at Hard Rock Stadium in its final home game. Kickoff is set for 5:45 PM EST.
Week 10 Preview: vs. Louisville Cardinals
Record: 4-3, 1-3 ACC
Head Coach: Tony Elliott
Offensive Scheme: Pro Style
Defensive Scheme: 4-2-5
Team Schedule
vs. James Madison (2-5): W 21-14
at Kent State (3-4): W 30-20
vs. Bowling Green (4-3): W 34-17
vs. Virginia (3-5): W 31-21
at #1 Virginia Tech (9-0): L 45-39
at SMU (5-3): L 52-21
at #21 Pittsburgh (5-2): L 33-14
Team Leaders
Passing: Pierce Clarkson (63 cmp%, 1741 yards, 18 TD, 9 INT, 135.9 passer rating)
Rushing: Isaac Brown (299 yards, 5.9 ypc, TD)
Receiving: Jimmy Calloway (36 receptions, 412 yards, 8 TD)
Blocking: 15 sacks allowed
Defense: Benjamin Perry (57 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 INT, 6 PBU)
Last Meeting CFB 2024 Regular Season, Week 8 - L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky
(6-0, 2-0 ACC) Miami Hurricanes 27 - 29 Louisville Cardinals (4-2, 1-2 ACC) ---QB Cam Ward: 23-39, 342 yds, 2 TD, INT, 7 att, 24 yds, TD ---WR Ray Ray Joseph: 3 rec, 100 yds, TD ---QB Tyler Shough: 25-34, 387 yds, 2 TD, INT ---TE Mark Redman: 6 rec, 132 yds
Injuries DE Tyler Baron (season) DT Artavius Jones (out - 1 month)
Hurricanes overcome slow start against Louisville thanks to big plays from Jeremiah Smith, Mario Williams
Jeremiah Smith is widely regarded to be the best player to come out of South Florida in recent years and one of the better receiver prospects of his generation. With Miami teetering on the brink of an upset, he showed why.
Smith's 87-yard touchdown on a screen pass to end the first half helped stopped the bleeding and give Miami the 14-10 lead over the Cardinals which they never relinquished, cruising to a 27-13 victory on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
The second half was not without drama as Miami's first possession of the second half resulted in a fumble from receiver Joshisa Trader, who was benched for the remainder of the game in favor of true freshman Eric Incoom. The Cardinals, trailing by just one point, were unable to take advantage of the field position due to a Justin Scott sack that took them out of field goal range.
With four minutes left in the game, Miami was only leading by four points when Emory Williams, making his second start of the season, threw a 40-yard bomb to Mario Williams on a RPO play.
Williams finished 22 of 37 for 226 yards and two touchdowns, with many of his incompletions coming on broken plays where he threw the ball out of bound or was forced out of the pocket. Miami did find success running the ball with Mark Fletcher rushing for 114 yards on just sixteen carries. Scoring Summary Quarter 1 Elija Lofton, 6 Yd run (2:59) Lester Dugans, 36 Yd FG (0:00)
Quarter 2 Pierce Clarkson, 1 Yd run (2:46) Jeremiah Smith 87 Yd pass from Emory Williams (0:00)
Quarter 3 Lester Dugans, 43 Yd FG (0:31)
Quarter 4 James Rutter, 23 Yd FG (9:05) Mario Williams 40 Yd pass from Emory Williams (4:19) James Rutter, 33 Yd FG (2:22) Player Stats QB Pierce Clarkson: 28-40, 279 yds, INT, sacked 11 times QB Emory Williams: 22-37, 226 yds, 2 TD
HB Donald Chaney: 13 att, 25 yds HB Mark Fletcher Jr: 16 att, 114 yds
WR Jimmy Calloway: 10 rec, 133 yds WR Chris Bell: 6 rec, 73 yds TE Nate Kurisky: 6 rec, 43 yds WR Jeremiah Smith: 6 rec, 118 yds, TD WR Mario Williams: 3 rec, 44 yds, TD WR Eric Incoom: 3 rec, 31 yds
LT Jalen Rivers: 80.1 PFF grade LG Samson Okunlola: 93.5 PFF grade C Ryan Rodriguez: 79.2 PFF grade RG Anez Cooper: 92.2 PFF grade RT Francis Mauigoa: 81.5 PFF grade
S Benjamin Perry: 13 tkl, TFL LB Stanquan Clark: 8 tkl, 2 TFL DE Marquise Lightfoot: 7 tkl, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks DT Justin Scott: 6 tkl, 4 TFL, 3 sacks DE Rueben Bain Jr: 6 tkl, 4 TFL, 3 sacks DT Kevin Yeboah: 5 tkl, 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks
What now for Hurricanes after Jeremiah Smith's season ending pectoral surgery?
Gabriel Lake -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
The Miami Hurricanes have confirmed earlier reports that sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith tore his pectoral muscle against Louisville and will require season ending surgery to repair it, at first reported by The Miami Herald.
It's unclear when Smith suffered the injury as he was on the field for Miami's final drive of the game before coming off the field for the final kneel down. The surgery will likely sidelined Smith through the offseason with the team hopeful he'll be ready in time for fall camp.
The Ohio State transfer has been dynamite for the Hurricanes, leading the team with 62 receptions, 954 yards and eight touchdowns. No other Miami receiver has more than 31 receptions and Miami's receiving corps as a whole, excluding tight end Elijah Arroyo, have totaled 963 yards on the season with a bulk of that (461) going to slot receiver Mario Williams who has been single covered all year due to the presence of Smith.
It'll be hard to replace Smith's production and impact on the field but Miami does have a few options for replacing him in the starting lineup with pivotal ACC matchups against Pittsburgh, Virignia Tech and SMU to finish the season once the Hurricanes come off this upcoming bye week.
Most likely: Isaiah Horton
In terms of body type and athletic profile, the closest thing to Smith on the roster is the six-foot-four, 205 pound Isaiah Horton who has started three games this season at Z receiver, opposite of Smith.
Horton hasn't been that productive this year but has taken advantages of his limited chances with seven receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns. In his three starts against Florida Atlantic, NC State and Stanford, Horton never caught more than two passes in a game but did have a sixty-five yard touchdown against Florida Atlantic.
The coaching staff has always been high on Horton and they like him a lot so slotting him in would allow for them to perhaps give him those extended opportunities and targets that have evaded him so far at Coral Gables.
Most experienced: Sam Brown
The third leading receiver on the team, excluding tight ends and running backs, is Sam Brown who is having a down year post-Cam Ward. Last year, Brown caught 43 passes for 628 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 48.3 yards per game. This season, Brown has been in and out of the starting lineup with just twelve receptions for 139 yards and two scores, his averages down to 15.4 yards per game.
After a slow start to the season, Ward has been his playing time diminish with less than ten snaps played in three games this year against Florida State, Stanford and Florida Atlantic. He does have touchdowns against Florida and Notre Dame so maybe an increase in opportunities and targets can get Brown back in rhythm as he was a productive receiver at Houston and at Miami last year.
Most upside: Joshisa Trader
Miami has tried early hard to get Joshisa Trader going but it just hasn't clicked for Trader, who was teammates with Jeremiah Smith in high school and was a highly regarded recruit in his own right.
Trader has some of the juice that Miami will be missing with Smith out so putting him out there makes sense as he does have those explosive traits but that hasn't been put on display this year, averaging less than ten yards per reception and has mostly been targeted on screens.
It's important to note for all of these receivers, they spent the year with Nicholas Vattiato at quarterback and have just now started playing with Emory Williams. Trader had a good first game with Williams, catching four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. If Miami's quick game is going to be a focus with Williams, guys like Trader become more important with his ability to take a three-yard hitch seventy five yards for a touchdown which is an ability he does have but hasn't shown.
Damn shame. Shouldn't have turned the ball over, my boy.
