Miami Hurricanes injury updates on several players, including Tyler Van Dyke, for UVA

An elated Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke embraced coach Mario Cristobal and backup-turned-starter Emory Williams at Hard Rock Stadium after the Canes defeated Clemson 28-20 Saturday night in double overtime.

According to Cristobal, the injured Van Dyke should be back for Miami (5-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) against Virginia (2-5, 1-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (ACC Network) at Hard Rock.

“He’s good to go,’’ Cristobal said at an on-campus Monday news conference. “Last week caught us off guard. I know on game day people look up and say, ‘Whoa. Wait a second.’ I mean he doesn’t have anything that’s that serious, but if it takes a certain turn you could delay it. And that’s really what ended up happening. We’re in a good place right now and everything [was] back to normal in today’s practice.”

Williams, a true freshman, completed 24 of 33 passes (73 percent) for 151 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. He was 14 of 17 for 120 yards in the second half.

Van Dyke hurt his right leg, ribs and back on Oct. 14 in a loss at then-No. 12 North Carolina.

Either way, Virginia will be sure to prepare fully for true freshman Williams as well as Van Dyke and perhaps even sophomore backup Jacurri Brown, who has yet to play this season but played extensively last year.

Injury updates

Additionally, Cristobal said former starting sophomore defensive end Nyjalik Kelly “will be out probably the rest of the season. His [injury] is a little bit more significant.’’

Kelly had three starts in four games this season, with eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup.

The coach said fourth-year junior starting defensive end Akheem Mesidor, who last played against Texas A&M on Sept. 9 and has a foot injury, is “close’’ to returning.

“Maybe not ready to comment completely on him right now,’’ Cristobal said. “We do have some evaluations later today and then another one later this week. We’re doing a lot of stuff with him.”

Among the running backs, redshirt freshman TreVonte’ Citizen is also “close’’ to returning, Cristobal said. Citizen sustained a major knee injury during fall camp of 2022 and has not yet played.

“He is repping [individual drills],’’ Cristobal said of Citizen. “He is due for some team work this week. He’s doing all the running, all the cuts, all the drills [and] is due for some contact this week. His was a very significant injury. And he had a setback during his recovery process. He looks great. He’s at that point where you can’t tell he has an injury. Now it’s a matter of confidence, making sure he feels confident enough and can play fast enough to really not subject himself to any type of injury situation.”

And more:

▪ Starting tailback Henry Parrish Jr. “is back full go’’ and expected to play Saturday after missing the Clemson game.

▪ Tailback Don Chaney Jr. got hurt toward the end of last game with an undisclosed injury, but “is doing well,’’ Cristobal said, without saying if he’d play Saturday. “He got up really slowly. It was concerning at the time but we feel like he’s in a good place right now.’’

Starting safety Kamren Kinchens has been dealing with “a bad ankle,’’ defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said Monday, adding that Monday was his best practice since the injury.

Virginia’s gift

The ACC’s last-place Virginia gave Miami a gift Saturday by upsetting then-No. 10 and now-No. 17 North Carolina 31-27 in Chapel Hill, putting the Hurricanes firmly in the race for the ACC title game on Dec. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Miami, which needs to win out for any chance to get in the league title game, opened as an 18-point favorite against the Cavaliers. But judging by the emotional makeup and current culture of this Hurricanes team, Virginia will not be underestimated.

Cristobal told WQAM that “UVA has a lot of good football players’’ and reiterated that “conference play is playoff football.”

“Every Saturday is absolutely wild and crazy,’’ the coach said. “It makes sense more and more — the more our guys get to see the reality of what college football is. Everybody has good players. And if you think you have the best players, and if you think you could just walk into our stadium and get it done, you’re out of your mind.

“You better prepare your butt off, you better work your butt off. Put that last game behind you whether it was good or bad, and get right to work.”

More Cristobal

More from Cristobal during a Monday WQAM interview:

▪ On true freshman defensive end Rueben Bain, who had eight tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble and 10 quarterback pressures and was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week and Rookie of the Week: “He just gets better and better and better. He’s a bully and he’s made some unbelievably critical plays in critical situations.’’

▪ On UM’s offensive line, which allowed no sacks Saturday and paved the way for the Hurricanes to gain 362 yards, including 211 on the ground against the country’s then-No. 5 overall defense:

“No sacks — a lot of that was dropback. The backs are responsible in that, too. So are our tight ends. I mean, 5 ½ [yards] a carry and 211 yards on a team that was the best in the conference and a top-five defense. That’s hard, man. [No. 1 running back Henry] Parrish was out. I mean, a freshman at quarterback in there. That’s a heavy load on an offensive line.

“They got it done, but they’re all playing five as one. And they’re playing with toughness and physicality. They knew this is a 15-round fight and they knew rounds 11 through 15 were going to separate one team from another.’’

▪ On what the last couple of weeks have been like for him after losing to Georgia Tech (no-kneel game) and at UNC:

“You know, me, man. I have the greatest gift in the world besides my family and faith. I had two of the toughest human beings in the history of the world [in] my parents, and they raised my brother and me to be the toughest sons of guns you could ever imagine. So, we are built, born and raised for this, and we came here because that’s what it takes. And that’s what we’re all about.

“And we enjoy every bit of the adversity, of the fight, of the building process, of the progress, of the good stuff. And [we’re] always tough enough to eat all the crap that sometimes comes with it. So, it’s all systems go every single day. Never ever ever a flinch. Never ever a waver, brother. That’s not the way it works in our family. Never.”

This and that

The ACC announced Monday that the UM at North Carolina State game will kick off at 8 p.m. and be aired by the ACC Network. The Wolfpack is 4-3 and 1-2, and hosts Clemson at 2 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.