Podcast: Canes kick Avantae Williams off team. And the biggest stories from ACC media day
ACC Kickoff ushered helped usher in the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference football season this week, but the Miami Hurricanes’ trip to Charlotte was interrupted by a serious off-field allegation against one of its most promising young players.
Miami-Dade County police arrested Avantae Williams on Wednesday and the safety was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant victim after he allegedly threw his pregnant ex-girlfriend on the ground after an argument with her inside their Kendall apartment. Within 24 hours, Miami kicked him off the team.
This is where the newest episode of the Eye on the U podcast begins, as David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, talk through the ugly incident and the potential fallout in Coral Gables for the Hurricanes, coach Manny Diaz and the upcoming 2021 college football season.
Later, we dive into ACC media days, which began with Diaz harping on the importance of vaccinations against COVID-19, featured inescapable conversations about name, image and likeness rules, and was filled with otherwise good vibes from Miami. Quarterback D’Eriq King, wide receiver Mike Harley and star safety Bubba Bolden made the trip up to North Carolina, were probably the best dressed players at the event and spoke of national-championship aspirations. King seems to be on track in his recovery from offseason knee surgery, Harley is on the preseason watch list for the Fred Biletnikoff award and Bolden is throwing aside his hesitancy about the COVID vaccine for the good of the team.
Degnan is on the ground in Carolina to recap the Kickoff, provide an update on King and set the stage for the 2022 college football season. Practices are less than two weeks away, so be sure to keep it locked into the Eye on the U podcast, and to rate, review and subscribe to keep up with Miami all year long.
