James Williams and Leonard Taylor: Two Miami 5 stars = 10 stars worth of excitement
The 6-5, 224-pound former Plantation American Heritage phenom James Williams had just grabbed his first college career interception. Then, sure enough, the other jumbo teen-aged former high school great — 6-3, 305-pound rookie defensive tackle Leonard Taylor out of Miami Palmetto — skied into the Hard Rock Stadium ozone to embrace him.
“I read the quarterback and I knew it was coming,’’ safety Williams said after flashing a super-sized grin about his third-quarter pick Saturday against FCS opponent Central Connecticut State. “We practiced on it all week. Got over from the other hash. Had to go get it.”
Two South Florida five stars came together Saturday as 10 stars worth of excitement, gratitude and playmaking at Hard Rock Stadium. They will be back for more at 7:30 p.m. Thursday as the University of Miami (2-2) takes on Virginia (2-2) in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener at Hard Rock Stadium (ESPN).
Williams is now listed ahead of veteran safety Gurvan Hall, with an “OR” between their names, on the UM depth chart for Virginia. He had three tackles and the interception against Central Connecticut State, and has six tackles in three games, including an assist on a loss and a pass breakup. Hall will be returning from a one-game suspension for violating unspecified team rules.
Taylor’s promising debut
Taylor, in his debut, had three tackles and one for a loss, which prompted his left arm to shoot into the air in glee. The enthusiasm of both was refreshing for fans, teammates and coaches, as was their play. Taylor’s 30 defensive snaps warranted Pro Football Focus to rate him has UM’s top run defender last week, per 247Sports. Williams played 37 snaps and was rated as UM’s top defender.
“How cool on James Williams’ interception,’’ coach Manny Diaz said, “when he gets up to celebrate that the first guy he runs and hugs is LT on the field. That was a pretty awesome moment.
“[Taylor] did some good things. He can finish a play, he’s disruptive in the backfield. From a conditioning level he got tired a little bit. We also kept things very, very simple on Saturday, which helped from an assignment standpoint.’’
Diaz wouldn’t commit to which safety would start, saying Virginia has the nation’s top passing offense (430.5 yards a game) and he wants to be certain Williams has his “eyes in the right spot” at all times. But it’s hard to believe Hall, at this point of a lackluster, flawed season, would get the nod over him.
Vets or rookies?
“You handle those things on a case-by-case basis,’’ Diaz, also UM’s defensive coordinator, said of decisions regarding whether to play a veteran over a highly rated freshman. “Who’s in front, who’s the older guy that you’re speaking of, who’s the younger guy, what kind of role are they capable of? Are they able to play every snap? Can they handle the expectation because their mistakes get magnified?
“What you really want is the rising tide to float all boats. If you have an older guy that’s not performing, then maybe his role has to go down.’’
Starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, a third-year sophomore transfer out of Georgia, was asked Tuesday if anything about Williams stood out to him besides his imposing physical gifts.
“He has a high confidence level,’’ Stevenson said. “He isn’t scared like a newcomer should be.”
Hurricanes defensive analyst Bob Shoop, a highly respected former college defensive coordinator and two time Broyles Award finalist for the award that goes to the top assistant coach in college football, is enamored of both five-star Canes. Monday he elaborated on each, first praising Williams, as well as fellow freshman safety Kamren Kinchens, who has played in three games and has nine tackles and a forced fumble.
“To see those guys have a little bit of early success is really what it’s all about,’’ said Shoop, who spent 2020 coaching safeties at Michigan, the two previous seasons as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator and before that as the coordinator at several other schools, including Penn State and Tennessee. “James, specifically, when I first met him I’d heard the name from recruiting nationally. I kind of assumed he might be a cocky kid, but it was to the contrary. He was as humble a person…
Shoop on Williams
“’Coach, help me out in any way. Let me know what I’m doing wrong, what I’m doing poorly,’’’ Shoop said, mimicking Williams. “[He] really was a sponge in trying to learn the defense, learn the fundamentals and techniques necessary to be successful at this level. I don’t know in 30-some years of coaching I’ve ever seen a safety as big as him. He has the ability to maybe do a lot of things.
“People have compared his skill set to the guy from Clemson a couple years ago, [Arizona Cardinals first-round draft pick] Isaiah Simmons. He played safety a certain number of snaps, linebacker, blitz off the edge, things like that. Virginia has a player, Noah Taylor, who does some of the same type of things.
“James has a really, really bright future. He’s got his head screwed on. He’s very humble. He’s willing to learn. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got a high football IQ, he’s got great character and I look forward to hopefully the opportunity to work with him for a long, long time.”
Shoop on Taylor
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Shoop said Taylor is “a lot like James,’’ but “probably not quite as ready made as James was to be thrown into action. But it was great to see him get his first action in the scrimmages and throughout the course of the summer [and] training camp. He flashed.
“He’s going to be a beast. He’s going to be a monster. He’s in a position that might be a little bit deep.” The coach said veteran defensive tackle Nesta Silvera “has played very well through the first four games.”
“You’ve got Jon Ford, you’ve got Jordan Miller and you’ve got [Jared] Harrison-Hunte up front, all pretty good players, so [Taylor] is probably that fifth guy right there. I know as we get into conference play on a weekly basis, the best units and the best defenses I’ve been a part of have been able to rotate four or five defensive tackles or four or five defensive ends. We don’t want guys playing 50, 60 snaps. If we can rotate those guys 40 snaps and get LT his 10 to 15 snaps as he continues to improve, that will be a real positive moving forward.”
More from Shoop on Taylor: “He’s got a great attitude, he’s got a great mind-set. He’s proud to be a Cane. We put on display last week a tremendous number of young players and certainly it was very easy to see and very obvious to even the most casual fan that the future is very, very bright at Miami and there are some really good, young talented players on this team.”
Taylor has not spoken to the media yet, but his time will come soon enough.
All smiles
Williams could barely contain that smile as he stood at the postgame lectern for the first time during a Zoom news conference after UM’s 69-0 win over CCSU.
“It was kind of crazy because they’ve been saying all week that the young guys gonna play and we all went back to the dorms and we were kind of hype like ‘Yo, we’re getting in. Whatcha all gonna do?’
“We went out there and balled out, played our hearts out.”
He said he chose his jersey number zero when he realized the NCAA was officially adding it as an option. “I always loved that number,’’ Williams said. “When my mom died I grabbed that number and I been sticking with that number since I got to high school [and] I couldn’t wear it no more and I wore 20.
“I got to Miami and they opened up the zero. Lock me in. That’s me. Make history behind it.’’
Williams’ first experience wearing the turnover chain might have made more of an impression than the interception. Wearing it for the first time, he said, felt as if “my neck was going to hurt, like my neck was hanging, like I was squatting something.”
“Man, it was heavy — but amazing,’’ Williams said.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 10:59 AM.
