Mario Cristobal on Avantae Williams: Miami DB Has a 'Really Bright Future'

Mario Cristobal talks about Avantae Williams after the safety's limited playing time against Southern Miss.

Sophomore safety Avantae Williams was a noticeable exception on defense for much of Miami's Week 2 contest against Southern Mississippi. The co-starter received limited snaps as a defensive back and played mostly on special teams for the Hurricanes.

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal addressed this lack of playing time with reporters during Monday's media availability.

"Avantae didn't play as much on Saturday, that's obvious," Cristobal said.

"Avantae is a good dude, he really is. [I've] known him for a long, long time. We recruited him at the other place."

Cristobal's relationship with Williams stems back from the head coach's time at Oregon. The safety was at one point committed to play under Cristobal with the Ducks before he decommitted as a high school senior, only two months before he pledged to Miami.

The head coach assured that the relationship between Williams and himself is still strong.

"I met with Avantae and one thing we're not gonna do is ... we're always gonna be straightforward and blunt and honest," Cristobal said. "We're not gonna create drama or narratives, that just ain't it. We're not gonna have that here.

"He's a good young man, and we gotta get to work and continue to get better and better, and he wants to be good. He's got a really, really bright future. We're gonna choose not to create narratives and drama out there in our program." 

Williams has been a standout player for the Hurricanes since his debut against Georgia Tech last season. In only four games, the safety totaled 15 tackles and one interception in his freshman campaign. 

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