Mario Cristobal bluntly explains Avantae Williams' decreased playing time

Almost every new coach deals with some sticky situations in the transition to his new program. With teams having hundreds of players, there are almost always a few who are unhappy with playing time, new rules or any number of different things they have to adjust to.

Throw in social media and the kindling that can lead to fires new coaches must put out has been doused with gasoline.

Such appears to be the case for first-year Miami coach Mario Cristobal, who was asked Monday about safety Avantae Williams, who’s gotten minimal playing time so far in 2022. The talented former 2020 prospect, who was rated as the top safety in the class, did not play on defense in the team’s 30-7 win over Southern Miss on Saturday.

Shortly after, according to the Miami Herald, Williams scrubbed any ‘Canes-related photos from his Instagram account.

Enter Cristobal with his fire extinguisher.

“Avantae didn’t play as much on Saturday, that’s obvious,” he told reporters when asked about Williams. “I think, look, Avantae is a good dude. He really is. Known him for a long, long time. Recruited him at the other place.

“I think the obvious thing is, well, social media this and that. Look, I met with Avantae. One thing we’re not going to do is; we’re always going to be straightforward and blunt and honest. Not going to create drama or narratives. That just ain’t it. Not gonna have that here.”

Cristobal dealing with player issues with honesty

One thing that was clear as Cristobal addressed Williams’ status is that he’s not going to feed into drama or games.

Williams has had a bit of a troubled start at Miami. He was briefly dismissed from the team in July 2021 when allegations of domestic violence surfaced, but he was allowed to rejoin the team in August 2021 when prosecutors declined to press charges and the case was dropped.

As a true freshman in 2021, Williams made one start and played in six games. He finished with 18 tackles and an interception.

Promising enough.

Through two games in Cristobal’s tenure, though, Williams has yet to record a defensive stat. Cristobal was open about how he’ll handle players troubled by decreased playing time.

“With honesty and transparency. There’s no other way to deal with it,” he said. “We don’t know of any other way. I guess there’s no, same thing, there’s no drama or narrative that comes with the processes of growth and development as a student-athlete, football player.

“Certain people hit their stride at certain times. It’s unpredictable. It’s probably one of the most imperfect sciences there is in the world: When’s a guy going to peak, when’s a guy going to hit his stride and be a great player and a great contributor? You’re talking about guys that are all contributing and doing a lot of good things. Sometimes some guys are a little bit ahead of others. Sometimes there’s a little bit of ground to be gained and some guys are making it up fast and others are not. Honesty and transparency. No nonsense and no BS.”

Despite the developing situation with Williams, Cristobal seemed to make it clear he has his player’s back. If Avantae Williams takes care of business, playing time should follow.

“He’s a good young man and we’ve got to get to work and continue to get better and better,” he said. “And he wants to be here and he’s got a really, really bright future. But we’re going to choose not to create narratives and drama out there in our program.”