Miami’s Cristobal: QB Tyler Van Dyke to start vs. Louisville; Emory Williams back for spring

University of Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday during an afternoon news conference that veteran quarterback Tyler Van Dyke will start Saturday in the Hurricanes’ regular-season home finale against ninth-ranked Louisville.

Cristobal also said in a morning radio interview and later at his on-campus remarks that Hurricanes true freshman quarterback Emory Williams, a right-hander who sustained a compound fracture of his left arm late in the Hurricanes’ 27-20 loss at No. 4 Florida State, will be back “and full go for spring practice.”

Cristobal’s other option at quarterback Saturday is sophomore Jacurri Brown, who hasn’t played this season.

But the coach is going with Van Dyke, who was benched as the starter for the FSU game.

“Tyler is going to be the starting quarterback going in,’’ Cristobal said, adding that Van Dyke “handled last week like a pro.’’ The coach said he is starting Van Dyke again because of his “performance last week’’ and “his determination’’ and “past successes.’’

“He’s handled everything really, really well,’’ Cristobal said, “and he has the confidence of his teammates.’’

Added offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson of Van Dyke: “Extreme professional.’’

Cristobal told reporters that he saw Williams on Monday and was going to see him again later. But he wouldn’t discuss anything about his reported surgery, basically saying it’s a private matter. When asked about Williams’ attitude, the coach said: “He’s never had a bad day.’’

Cristobal said Brown will get “a lot of reps’’ in practice. If he is needed, Dawson said, Brown is ready to roll.’’

“He’s going to be OK over time,’’ Cristobal told WQAM host Joe Rose regarding Williams. “Obviously, a significant injury. He’ll be back for spring football. But a lot of guts, a lot of toughness. great demeanor about him. He wasn’t shaken. Some of those early [throws], you could tell he was a little bit nerved up. But on the road, a freshman, to go out there and do some of the things he did [were] really impressive.

“Really proud of the guy. Tough-ass SOB.”

Williams was taken to a Tallahassee hospital Saturday evening after the injury. He flew back with the team to Miami that night, and was scheduled to undergo surgery at some point Monday, CaneSport reported through a source.

Miami (6-4, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) faces Louisville (9-1, 6-1) at noon Saturday.

Cristobal was asked when he made the decision to start Williams over Van Dyke.

“Both guys practiced throughout the week and, honestly, both guys had a really good week of practice,’’ Cristobal told Rose. “They really, really did. Those things are tough decisions. So, later in the week. When you have a quarterback decision to make, you make sure guys get the same amount of reps with the ones and also get some reps with the twos, so come game time they’re ready to play.”

Williams was injured on fourth-and-2 from the UM 20, with 2:56 left. He scrambled for the first down and extended his arms as he crashed hard to the ground, his right arm clutching the football and his left arm taking the brunt of the impact. A paramedic sprinted onto the field and placed the arm in a protective device. Williams was crying as he was carted toward the Doak Campbell Stadium tunnel, placed in an ambulance and driven to the hospital.

Van Dyke, the 2021 ACC Offensive Player/Rookie of the Year, replaced Williams Saturday. He was 2 of 7 for 29 yards, drove UM to two first downs and threw the game-sealing interception on his last pass. This season, Van Dyke started eight of his first nine games, going 172 of 258 (66.6 percent) for 2,086 yards and 16 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions.

“Being a quarterback at Miami, you’ve got to be tough,’’ Cristobal said of Van Dyke. “You gotta have think skin. You gotta be a competitor. He’s all that. He handled last week like a pro, which means disappointed, upset. [He] really fought hard all week and it was a great week of practice by both guys. In fact at the end of the week, I felt like, ‘Man, we made a lot of progress.’’’

Williams played in five games, also starting in UM’s Oct. 21 victory against Clemson. He is 44 of 71 (61.9) for 470 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

Brown, who Cristobal said Saturday was “on the docket to play’’ Saturday “regardless of the situation,’’ last year finished 27 of 45 for 230 yards and three touchdowns, with three interceptions. He also ran for 223 yards on 54 carries (4.1 yards per carry). He has previously struggled with passing accuracy.

“Everybody talks about [how] he’s a good athlete and whatnot,’’ Cristobal said of Brown. “But he’s developed as a passer. By that, I mean going through his progression, being accurate with the football, understanding the offense...’’

More, from Cristobal:

▪ Regarding injuries, he said he expects running backs Henry Parrish and Ajay Allen to return Saturday.

▪ On 6-5, 315-pound fourth-year junior offensive tackle and former starter Zion Nelson, who had surgery to remove “floating cartilage” in his left knee in the summer of 2022, then had setbacks and has only played in two games since — none this season: “The nature of his injury just requires time...I can’t get into specific detail. ...We feel very confident we’re going to get there,’’ he said about his playing again.

▪ On the apparent safety of Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, which was not called by the officials, even after reviewing the play: “I don’t know or care if I get in trouble. That’s a safety. That’s it. The best I could say it.”

Here’s what Cristobal said Saturday night after the game, when asked if he got an explanation about the non-safety call: “Zero. Zero. Zero explanation. None. Second time [after almost the exact situation occurred against Clemson]. “So, hopefully the broadcasters got a good view of it.

“I’ll answer any question. I’m good. Am I pissed? Of course I’m pissed.’’

▪ On what he thinks of the play-calling he’s seen from offensive coordinator Dawson:

“We have not produced at the level we wanted to. We don’t point the finger at one certain person. We just don’t. We have run the ball effectively most of the time. Saturday we were getting some chunk plays then third quarter was tough. First quarter was a little bit rough but then we got things going. That’s a good defense.

“But the last several weeks we just haven’t put together in areas we were good at earlier in the year, when we were a really good offense, [when] third down and red zone were huge. We were performing in those areas at a really high level because we were getting ourselves in third-and-manageable.

“We were connecting really, really well. Our run-pass balance was really good. And we’re not on right now. We’re off. We’re working our way back there. There were some bright moments Saturday. I do think when you play those types of games, the real, real physically challenging ones, the high talent games, you find a way to win however you can. And we just didn’t get there.”

UM is now 64th nationally in red-zone offense, 46th in rushing (172 yards a game), 45th in passing (255.6), 43rd in scoring (30.9) and 37th in total offense (427.6).