CORAL GABLES — The Miami Hurricanes made a quarterback change for their rivalry game against Florida State on Saturday, benching veteran Tyler Van Dyke in favor of freshman Emory Williams.
But Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes will look to Van Dyke again after Williams suffered a season-ending left arm injury at the end of the 27-20 loss in Tallahassee.
At his Monday press conference, Cristobal said Van Dyke will start against Louisville this Saturday.
“Tyler is going to be the starting quarterback going in,” Cristobal said.
Van Dyke entered the game against FSU after Williams’ injury. He went 2 for 7 during the Hurricanes’ final drive, throwing an interception to end Miami’s last chance. He has thrown 11 interceptions in his past five games.
Cristobal said Van Dyke handled the back-and-forth of the benching and being re-inserted as the starter well, and the veteran signal-caller “has the confidence of his teammates and the coaching staff.”
“Being a quarterback at Miami, you’ve got to be tough,” Cristobal said. “You’ve got to have thick skin. You’ve got to be a competitor. He’s all that. He handled last week like a pro, which means disappointed, upset, really fought hard all week — and it was a great week of practice by both guys. In fact, at the end of the week, the staff felt like, man, we’ve made a lot of progress.”
This season, Van Dyke has thrown for 2,086 yards with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Miami’s other quarterback option, sophomore Jacurri Brown, has not gotten into a game this season but played in eight as a freshman in 2022. He started two games last season, picking up a win over Georgia Tech. He completed 60 percent of his passes for 230 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 223 yards.
“He’s developed in a lot of different ways. … Everybody talks about (how) he’s a good athlete and whatnot, but he’s developed as a passer,” Cristobal said. “By that, I mean going through his progression, being accurate with the football, understanding the offense, understanding how to get us in and out of plays, understanding the protections.”
Cristobal said Williams and Van Dyke both practiced with the first-team and second-team offense last week, and that is how he handles position competitions in general.
“When you have a quarterback decision to make — really at any position — you make sure guys get the same amount of reps with the ones and also get some reps with the twos so that come game time, they’re ready to play,” Cristobal said.
Williams, who finished his second career start with eight completions on 23 attempts, racked up 175 passing yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against FSU. He was taken to a local hospital after suffering his arm injury but was released and flew home with the team. Hurricanes freshman tight end Jackson Carver posted a picture on Instagram with Williams; the quarterback had a bulky cast and a sling supporting his left arm.
“He’s going to be OK over time,” Cristobal said. “Obviously, a significant injury. He’ll be back for spring football.”
Running backs expected to play this week
Cristobal said Monday that running backs Henry Parrish Jr. and Ajay Allen are expected to return to the field for UM’s game against Louisville.
Cristobal said the two halfbacks were healthy but did not look like they were ready to play in time for the Hurricanes’ loss to FSU, so UM went with Mark Fletcher Jr. and Don Chaney Jr. in the backfield.
“I think (Parrish will) be healthy enough this week,” Cristobal said. “He was healthy enough to play, just didn’t look like he was up to full speed and the other guys were. Same thing with Ajay. Felt that they were two days away, three days away. Like they were right at the cusp, and those other guys were running the ball really well, so we went with those guys.”
Parrish is Miami’s leading rusher this season with 469 yards (5 more yards than Chaney). He has four rushing touchdowns. He has been hurt since UM played UNC on Oct. 14. Parrish played eight offensive snaps against Virginia and six against N.C. State before missing the Florida State game.
Allen has 282 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season. He last played against Virginia on Oct. 28.
Hurricanes hopeful Zion Nelson will play again
Miami offensive lineman Zion Nelson has been off the football field far longer than anyone expected. The offensive tackle had knee surgery before the 2022 season and has played only two games since then.
Nelson has not gotten back on the field this year after playing early in 2022, but Cristobal said the staff is hopeful he will play again.
“I think he is (going to play again),” Cristobal said. “I know he’s frustrated. He’s a great human being, by the way, and obviously, a really good football player, as well. The nature of his injury just requires time — time and tweaks. And I can’t get into specific detail as to what that is, but when you’re a big body, you want to make sure you get it right just because those guys have so much more stress, so much more power and force in all their movements. So we feel very confident that we’re going to get there.
“It’s certainly taken longer than all of us would’ve ever wanted or expected. … You want to do what’s best for the student-athlete and for the team, too, because the moment he gets healthy, he’s an instant boon for our offensive line and for our team.”
Before the injury, Nelson was a rising offensive tackle. He had a 73.3 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021.
Jacolby George earns weekly award
Despite Miami’s loss against FSU, wide receiver Jacolby George was named the ACC’s Wide Receiver of the Week on Monday.
George scored Miami’s two touchdowns in the loss, catching a short fade for a score and hauling in an 85-yard touchdown catch.
George has been the ACC Wide Receiver of the Week twice this season. He was previously named the conference’s receiver of the week after catching three touchdowns against Texas A&M.
George leads the Hurricanes with 707 receiving yards and seven touchdowns this season.
