Miami’s James Williams: Forget about being a hero and be more disciplined at Virginia Tech
Miami Hurricanes safety James Williams, always passionate and upbeat and outspoken, told reporters Wednesday during a Zoom teleconference that UM’s pass defenders were too busy trying to be heroes against North Carolina instead of being disciplined and worrying about their specific responsibilities.
“We’ve been hearing this all week. It’s the No. 1 thing that has been killing us,’’ said Williams, when asked how the Canes can stop themselves from trying to do too much and just stay focused on playing their game — especially when they desperately want to win after three consecutive losses. “We’re not doing our job. We’re not doing what we got to do. We’re not playing disciplined football such as, like, not focusing on my gap control or my block scheme or my route running or my coverage or my eyes — what I gotta look out for the next specific coverage. And they hurt us real bad in the game at the wrong moments of the game.“
Miami (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) travels to Blacksburg, Virginia, for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff against Coastal Division foe Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-2) and knows it must clean up its errors from the past two losses to prevent falling behind early.
Williams, a 6-5, 224-pound sophomore starter and former five-star signee from Plantation American Heritage, began the session by being asked, as several others have been this week, how the pass defense turned a corner in the second half against UNC. The Canes had coverage breakdowns the past two games in allowing, for example, a 74-yard touchdown pass (50-plus yards after catch) in the first quarter against UNC, and a 52-yard completion that led to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. There were similar mistakes the previous week in a loss to Middle Tennessee State. UM held the Tar Heels to just two field goals in the second half last week, but couldn’t make up their deficit and lost 27-24.
The Canes are 105th in the nation in passing yards allowed (262.6 per game). The Hokies aren’t much better in passing offense, ranked 94th (220.5).
What was said Saturday at halftime?
“That we gotta do our job,’’ Williams said. “We were too focused on trying to be the hero of the game or make a play, and we wasn’t doing our job, what we had to do, as far as the game plan. We wasn’t focused on the little things. So that’s what made us down 14-zip in the first quarter that really changed the game for us.”
In five games, Williams is second on the team with 21 tackles (behind linebacker Corey Flagg’s 30) and has half a tackle for loss, one interception and is tied for the team lead with three pass breakups. Last season, Williams took over as a starter against FCS Central Connecticut State and started seven consecutive games before he went down in the first half of the Nov. 13 Florida State game. A groin injury required season-ending surgery, and Williams finished 2021 with 31 tackles, half a tackle for loss, two interceptions and two passes defended in 10 games.
Kam Kinchens
Safety Kamren Kinchens, another exceptional freshman talent last season, started the last five games at safety in 2021 and played in all 12 games (fourth on team with 44 tackles, a tackle for loss, four breakups and a forced fumble) and now leads the Canes with three interceptions, a fumble recovery, and has 20 tackles.
Williams, along with Kinchens, were lauded Wednesday by coach Mario Cristobal for their leadership at such a young age. Kinchens, out of Miami Northwestern, was not part of the Zoom session.
“I assess myself by speaking up more because my words pose a lot for this team,’’ Williams said. “My energy and my passion carries a lot around the team. You know they say negative energy is contagious, but my job is not to bring negative energy around. I want to bring positivity so we all can shine together. This ain’t just a one-man show. One man. I want all of us to be great and successful in life.”
Said Cristobal of the two safeties: “Both those guys have done really well. You’re looking at two guys that are a year and five games into their careers — they’re very, very young. For guys at that stage in their careers to take on the roles they have, in my opinion, that’s really impressive, really hard to do. Not to mention they play positions that require a lot of mental gymnastics sometimes.
“They’ve got to line people up. They’ve got to make sure if something’s not right, they’ve got to make it right. That’s balancing a lot when you’re also playing on all special teams. I’m really proud of both those guys. They’ve made a ton of progress.”
Cristobal also mentioned Avantae Williams, Al Blades Jr. and Brian Balom as making contributions in the defensive backfield. James Williams indicated that, indeed, the game requires teamwork.
Middle linebacker Flagg quickly reeled off Williams and Kinchens as the two young leaders “on top” of his list. “Sometimes I even forget how young they are,’’ Flagg said. “Hats off to those guys. They’re here every day watching film as much as they can, just getting better. They’re taking their games to another level. It’s scary, man, to see how good those guys are going to be in their future.’’
“I mean, I wouldn’t say I put too much pressure on myself,’’ Williams said. “I’m more so putting pressure on my teammates for them to do their job so we all can be successful on top. It ain’t just about me, what I gotta do on the field. It’s about what this guy gonna do? Is he gonna do his job? I gotta focus on all of us doing our jobs. So at the end of the day [we] come out smelling like a rose.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 3:29 PM.
