Miami Hurricanes update status of safety Avantae Williams for Alabama
Miami Hurricanes safety Avantae Williams will still miss a significant portion of the season despite being reinstated with the team this past week, coach Manny Diaz told the Associated Press. Williams won’t play in at least the first six games of the year, Diaz said.
Miami has benchmarks described as “education, mentorship, and personal development” that the redshirt freshman must meet before he can return to the field. He will rejoin practice next month after completing a conditioning program.
“Our goal is to make the best Avantae Williams that we possibly can,” Diaz said. “That’s why we gave him the avenue back. There’s some things we want him to be able to accomplish that we think will help him, and by helping him that ultimately helps us as a football program.”
The Hurricanes dismissed Williams from the team earlier this summer after facing three counts of aggravated battery of his pregnant ex-girlfriend. The decision to reinstate Williams came after the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announcement that all charges stemming from a domestic violence accusation had been dropped.
The Miami safety expressed his feelings on the matter after having his charges declined.
“Thanks be to God that the truth came out and all charges against me were dropped,” Williams posted on Twitter. “As the father of a daughter and son I will always focus on my responsibility to set the right example of how women should be treated. In the future, I want to help others who face false charges.”
247Sports listed Williams as the No. 2 safety in the class of 2020. He chose to attend Miami over offers from Alabama, Florida and Oregon, among others. He did not play this past season.
Diaz said the university had several people involved in the decision to reinstate Williams.
“The situation changed with the way the case was handled,” Diaz said. “Those decisions are certainly not made by one individual. There’s a lot of communication with the administration at the university level, with the administration at the athletics department level. And really, what became our focus is ‘what we can best do for Avantae going forward?’”
Miami opens the season on Sept. 4 against No. 1 Alabama. If the six-game timeline holds true, Williams would first be available to play Oct. 23 against NC State.
Williams’ attorney Michael Etienne spoke with the Miami Herald about the next steps last week. In addition, he confirmed his client’s desire to continue playing football.
“I cannot overstate that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office did the right thing here,” said Etienne. “Now our priority is to get Avantae back into school playing the sport that he loves.”
He continued: “We reached out this morning to the University of Miami to see if they could get him reinstated. Compliments to Coach Edwin Pata, the assistant recruiting director, who cared enough to reach out to me and ask me to do everything I can to give Avantae a fighting chance.”
With Avantae Williams now successfully reinstated, he can turn his focus to getting in game shape.