Here’s how UM QB Williams stacks up against Clemson’s Lawrence. It might surprise you.
A six-pack of Hurricanes notes on a Thursday:
▪ What if I said before the season that UM would have a quarterback who would measure up very similarly statistically to Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence?
Canes fans would have certainly taken that, and now that we have seen more than 25 quarters of Jarren Williams, it’s time to acknowledge the impressiveness of his full body of work.
Let’s take the Lawrence comparison first. Lawrence has a 167.6 passer rating, which is ninth in the country. Williams is 10th at 164.8.
Lawrence has completed 67.1 percent of his passes, which is 21st in the country. WIlliams is at 67 percent, which is 22nd.
Williams has a slightly better touchdown-to-interception ratio (16 to 3) compared with Lawrence’s 23 to 8.
Lawrence averages 9.1 yards per pass attempt, which is 11th in the country. Williams stands 16th nationally in that category, at 8.8 yards per pass attempt.
And there’s more to appreciate with Williams, even beyond the UM-record six TD passes against Louisville:
As AP’s Tim Reynolds notes, the list of quarterbacks who have had six or more TDs and no interceptions against a Power 5 opponent this season is limited to these three: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, LSU’s Joe Burrow and Williams.
Williams’ 116 NFL passer rating would be better than any NFL quarterback this season. (Russell Wilson leads at 114.9). You can’t eliminate the one bad quarter against Virginia Tech, which included all three of his interceptions. But if you could, his NFL passer rating would be 123.
Williams would set the UM record for completion percentage at 67 percent if he stays at his current number. Jacory Harris holds the record at 65 percent.
And this speaks to his growth as a deep-ball passer: Entering the FSU game, Williams had completed just one of 10 passes for 38 yards — against FBS teams - on passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air. In two games since, he’s 6 for 9 for 241 yards and five TDs on those throws.
“I feel like me and [offensive coordinator Dan Enos] have a better understanding for each other, my strengths and weaknesses,” Williams said Tuesday. “He has a better feel for it. And I understand when he calls plays what he’s trying to do, what he sees. I’m his eyes out there.”
Stephen Morris and Malik Rosier were former UM quarterbacks who congratulated Williams for the six-TD game Saturday.
“He’s throwing the ball great, running the offense great,” center Corey Gaynor said of Williams. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the guy running the offense.”
▪ UM confirmed that senior defensive end Scott Patchan did not participate in UM’s senior day activities surrounding the home finale against Louisville, leading to speculation that he will apply for another year, using a medical redshirt request as the basis to get another season.
Patchan redshirted as a freshman in 2015, played one game in 2016, five in 2017, 12 games in 2018 and every game this season.
If junior Jon Garvin turns pro — joining senior Trevon Hill — UM could use another year from Patchan. If he’s granted another season, Greg Rousseau, Patchan and Jahfari Harvey would be Miami’s top returning defensive ends.
▪ What’s especially impressive about receiver Dee Wiggins’ big day Saturday (three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns) is that he accomplished that in just 14 offensive snaps, per Herald metrics correspondent Daniel Gould....
More snap decisions: With Brevin Jordan sidelined last week, here’s how UM allocated tight end snaps: 35 to Will Mallory, 25 to Michael Irvin Jr. and four to Brian Polendey…. Receiver Jeremiah Payton’s nine snaps on Saturday will be his final playing time of the year barring something unforeseen, Manny Diaz said. That’s because UM wants to redshirt him and Payton has played in four games — the maximum permitted to redshirt….
Jon Ford’s 13 snaps were the fewest among defensive tackles Saturday; Jordan Miller played 19…. Linebacker Patrick Joyner’s 2019 debut included three defensive snaps.
▪ Basketball stuff Part 1: Four-star New Hampshire-based power forward Matt Cross signed with UM on Wednesday, when the early signing period began. The 6-8 forward chose Miami over Butler, Florida, Indiana, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
“Matt is the definition of hard nosed,” coach Jim Larranaga said. “He’s an outstanding three-point shooter, a great team-oriented player and has an extreme toughness that will allow him to compete against the best players in the ACC.”
ESPN rates him the 81st-best player in the 2020 class.
But Earl Timberlake, UM’s Maryland-based five-star commitment, curiously didn’t sign — and said he won’t until April. Apparently, he never intended to sign anywhere until April. He told Canesport “I’m 110 percent Miami, just not signing right now.”...
▪ Basketball stuff Part 2: Freshman guard Harlond Beverly continues to impress, averaging 12.7 points and 3.3 assists in 24.7 minutes per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 4 for 9 on threes. He’s going to have an excellent career here.
What’s impressive, Larranaga told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki, is “Harlond’s ability to get by his own man and finish at the rim with either his right hand or left hand. He’s got the long arms and the nice touch. He does have a smile on his face all the time. His teammates really enjoy playing with him. He’s got very good balance going to the basket.”
In Tuesday’s win over UCF, Beverly played some point guard, with Chris Lykes shifting to shooting guard…
Forward Keith Stone, the senior transfer from UF, is going hard in workouts and could return by very early December after January ACL surgery as a Gator. “He still hasn’t been cleared to play 5-on-5, but that’s coming soon,” Larranaga said.
▪ Quick stuff: Defensive end Hill was invited to the Senior Bowl… Five-star linebacker Justin Flowe told recruiting sites that he enjoyed his visit to UM and he is genuinely considering the Canes. (Clemson is widely considered the front-runner.).. UM tells us that because of a computer data input error on their part, defensive end Jahfari Harvey did not play against Louisville, meaning he’s still at three games. (We had reported he played Saturday because UM’s participation chart — distributed to reporters — had incorrectly stated that.) UM remains in position to redshirt Harvey, Peyton, tight end Larry Hodges, quarterback Peyton Matocha, safety Keontra Smith and three freshmen defensive tackles.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 4:51 PM.
