Elite in-state safety Avantae Williams ‘looking forward’ to Miami visit ahead of NSD
There was a time when Avantae Williams was one of the centerpieces of the Miami Hurricanes’ Class of 2020.
He orally committed to Miami all the way back in 2017 when he was a sophomore at Bradenton IMG Academy, considered one of the best young defensive backs in the country. He backed off his pledge in 2018, then committed to the Oregon Ducks later in the year.
After nearly a year as part of Oregon’s 2020 recruiting class, Williams backed off another commitment last month, though. He’s now one of the most coveted remaining uncommitted prospects in the 2020 recruiting cycle heading into National Signing Day next month, and the Hurricanes are on the short list of contenders for elite in-state defensive back. Although he hasn’t officially set up an official visit to Coral Gables, Williams said Thursday in Orlando he’s working on setting one up.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to doing that,” Williams said at Camping World Stadium when he was asked whether he would visit Miami.
Things are vastly different for both Williams and the Hurricanes since he backed off his pledge. The senior, who logged four tackles in the Under Armour All-America Game on Thursday, transferred back to DeLand after his sophomore season at IMG Academy and has been playing back in his hometown since. Miami, of course, made a coaching change last year, although the defensive coaches Williams forged his early relationships with are still in place.
One of Williams’ earliest draws to to the Hurricanes, however, is gone. The four-star safety initially committed to Miami on the same day as running back Lorenzo Lingard. The two are cousins and Williams initially thought the idea of playing with his older cousin was appealing.
Lingard, however, transferred to the Florida Gators on Friday and Florida is viewed as the favorite to land Williams, too, but Williams said Lingard’s rocky time in South Florida isn’t deterring him from considering the Hurricanes.
“Nah,” he said, “it’s cool.”
Williams, whom the 247Sports.com composite rankings peg as the No. 55 overall player in the 2020 class, has locked in official visits with the Gators and Mississippi Rebels for later this month. He also plans to take an official visit with the Georgia Bulldogs, although he hasn’t set a date to visit them, either. Since Williams already took an official visit with the Ducks last month, an official visit with the Hurricanes would be his fifth and final allowed.
Miami’s appeal lies with its defensive coaching staff and how comfortable he feels in South Florida. Williams last visited the Hurricanes in the summer, when he attended Paradise Camp and said he feels he has a lot in common with all the players from the Miami metropolitan area, even though he’s from Central Florida.
The coaching staff, though, is the one he has had the longest-standing relationship with. The Hurricanes and Gators were the first two to offer him scholarships, and Florida’s staff has turned over entirely since then. Williams committed to Miami because of coaches like Manny Diaz, who was then the defensive coordinator, and safeties coach Ephraim Banda. If the Hurricanes can win this uphill battle and land Williams’ signature in February, it’ll because these relationsips lured him down to campus one last time.
“I know them boys real well. I’ve got a great relationship with them, so they’re my boys no matter what,” Williams said. “I’m cool with the players, but really the coaches. ... I’m cool with all them boys. They’re my boys.”
