Could Miami football safety Avantae Williams enter transfer portal?
Safety Avantae Williams did not play any snaps on Saturday after participating in only 15 in the season opener. Canes Country publisher Michael Yero posted on Saturday afternoon following the win by the Miami football team that Williams has removed everything related to the Hurricanes from his Instagram account.
Williams has not posted anything to Twitter since Thursday. According to Alex Donno the Miami post-game show host, Williams received a 49.6 grade from Pro Football Focus against Bethune-Cookman. That was the fourth worst grade on the Miami defense. Mario Cristobal has stated that players earn playing time in practice.
As expected, sophomores Kamren Kinchens and James Williams have earned the most playing time at safety. Canes Country reported that PFF graded James Williams as the third highest performer for Miami defensively on Saturday. The 50 snaps Williams played on Saturday were the most for Miami defensively.
Avantae Williams has had a difficult time during his tenure with the Miami football program. Williams missed his entire true freshman season in 2020 due to an undisclosed medical condition. Following an arrest for a domestic dispute, Williams was suspended for the first six games of the 2021 season.
The charges against Williams were eventually dropped. When Williams finally played last season he recorded 18 tackles and an interception in the final six games. Miami is extremely deep at safety. It could be the most difficult position to earn playing time on the Hurricanes’ 2022 roster.
Kinchens also played 50 snaps versus Southern Mississippi. Al Blades Jr. who was converted from cornerback during the offseason played 14 behind Kinchens and Williams. Gilbert Frierson who had an interception return for a touchdown last week played 10 snaps. This will be a pivotal week for Avantae Williams.
Williams has decisions to make. He can assert himself this week in practice and have a chance to contribute versus Texas A&M or potentially decide to enter the transfer portal. The NCAA recently established a transfer window that commences the day after the national championship game is played.
Williams could ultimately even decide to take time away from the Miami football team and consider what he wants to do with his future. The Instagram story could have grown out of frustration with his lack of playing time and been a rash decision to post. Cristobal is a no-nonsense coach.
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Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and other Miami players have spoken about the increase in discipline expected from the Hurricanes. Cristobal will likely speak to Williams and keep the problems in-house. Williams can still be an important part of the future of the Miami football program. He has to prove he deserves playing time.