Miami Hurricanes S James Williams: “Great to have Kam back” … Georgia Tech has “explosive offense’ that will challenge UM

Miami James Williams will get back his partner in the defensive backfield this weekend, with All-American safety Kam Kinchens returning off injury.

Kinchens’ importance on this defense can’t be overstated, of course.

“It’s great to have Kam back,” Williams said. “To see him back on Greentree running around, making plays, getting excited how he used to be. But I want to give out a shout to Jaden Harris, the job he did when Kam got hart. It was amazing seeing Jaden Harris step up and see Kam push Jaden to the top of his potential and take his spot as he was down for a couple of weeks.”

How did the game change without Kinchens?

“I mean, to me it wasn’t any different,” Williams said. “I felt like Jaden Harris was prepared as much as Kam would be if Kam was playing. To me it was the same thing, really wasn’t a big difference, drastic change.”

For his part, Williams has enjoyed a strong start to the season playing safety and also coming down into the box on 38 percent of his snaps (76 of 201 reps). He’s helped out vs. the run and pass and is one off the team lead in tackles with 17 (Francisco Mauigoa has 18).

Williams has a 65.5 overall grade per Pro Football Focus but perhaps that doesn’t do justice to how well he’s playing. Williams credits film study with helping his performance.

“The film doesn’t lie, that’s where I make all my plays – it puts me in better position to make plays, knowing what is coming before it comes,” Williams said.

Williams is a big part of a D that has thrived on totally shutting down the run, allowing only 48 rush yards per game. The team also is creating disruptive plays – Miami has 10 sacks and 27 tackles for loss in four games.

In the secondary? Opponents average 225 passing yards per game, which is middle-of-the-pack, but only have three TD passes with four INTs.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Williams said. “I feel we get too passive and allow little short yardage that easily rack up on the stat sheet. Off the field we’re like `Wow, we gave up that many yards?’ We have to learn to keep our foot on the pedal, always breaking downhill and understanding our coverages and understanding why coach (Lance) Guidry calls certain calls at certain moments. Once we understand that our passing yards should drop.”

Now the team is ready coming off a bye weekend to get after its first ACC opponent, 2-3 Georgia Tech.

The passing offense could pose a challenge behind QB Haynes King, who has thrown for 15 TDs with four INTs and added 176 rush yards and another score. Georgia Tech is No. 19 in the nation in total offense (467.4 yards) and No. 17 in passing offense (300.0 yards).

“They have an explosive offense all around, a pretty explosive back that can do whatever in space, great receivers with excellent speed,” Williams said. “You have (players) who are all fast, explosive guys that can make plays. This will be a good test to a great offense, to test Miami and see where we’re at.”

The post Miami Hurricanes S James Williams: “Great to have Kam back” … Georgia Tech has “explosive offense’ that will challenge UM appeared first on On3.