Report: Emory Williams to start at QB for Miami vs. Florida State

Miami freshman quarterback Emory Williams will start for the Hurricanes against Florida State, according to Geo Milian.

Williams will start in place of the struggling veteran Tyler Van Dyke. Miami is currently 6-3 on the season with three games to play.

It’ll be Williams’ second start of his career (he started against Clemson). He appeared in four games so far during the 2023 season.

In those four games, Williams is 36-of-48 passing (75%) for 295 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

As a member of the Class of 2023, Williams was a three-star recruit out of Milton (Fla.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 104 overall prospect in the state, the No. 36 quarterback in the class and the No. 629 overall prospect in the class.

As far as Van Dyke is concerned, he has 2,057 yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 67.7% completion percentage this year.

Head coach Mario Cristobal recently spoke about Van Dyke handling his latest struggles against NC State.

“He’s good. He’s tough, he’s resilient,” Cristobal said. “I don’t know how much social media affects him or people in general. That can never be a factor. That has nothing to do with the work that needs to be done. The team itself, the areas to improve, teammates, goals – all that kind of stuff.”

In the 14-point loss in Raleigh, Van Dyke had his second straight game with no touchdowns and only picks. In total, he finished 21-38, a season low completion rate of 55.3%, against the Wolfpack for 173 yards and three interception.

Van Dyke’s dropoff has coincided with Miami’s recent 2-3 stretch, although he missed the victory over Clemson due to injury. In his last four starts, the Hurricanes have gone 1-3 as he has completed 63.3% of his passes for just over 1,000 yards and only five touchdowns compared to 10 picks.

Williams gets the nod Saturday instead. He’ll need quite the ball game to upset No. 4 Florida State, which has ACC and College Football Playoff aspirations.

Nevertheless, though, Van Dyke is just pushing forward according to Cristobal. He may not be performing at his best but, still, that hasn’t hindered him from trying to be at his best in every way for himself and his teammates.

“He is very determined to be the best teammate he can possibly be and the best player he can possibly be,” Cristobal said. “He’s being Tyler Van Dyke.”