Hurricanes freshman quarterback Emory Williams making strong first impression

CORAL GABLES — Emory Williams spent his recruitment building relationships with former Miami offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce, but by the time Williams arrived in Coral Gables for the spring semester, both assistant coaches departed.
In their place was Shannon Dawson, the Hurricanes’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Instead of regretting his decision, Williams quickly built a rapport with his new coach.
“I like to build relationships with people,” Williams told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I feel like when I build relationships with people and I get to know them, then I feel like we’re more on the same page than not. So just having the opportunity to build a relationship with an OC from ground up has been fun. It’s always just learning and seeing what each other think.”
The freshman quarterback has drawn positive reviews after going through spring practice with the team and starting his first fall camp.
“Emory’s just a mellow, good guy,” quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said. “Always does everything right. … I’m impressed with how he’s developing a little bit and how he’s grown. A lot better with accuracy so far than I saw (on the first day of fall camp) from the spring, so hopefully he keeps improving. He has a bright future.”
Williams has looked accurate during drills in the Hurricanes’ early fall practices, and Dawson said the freshman and sophomore Jacurri Brown have been “extremely consistent.”
“Emory’s got a decent command of the offense in the sense of he was asked to do a lot of these things (in high school),” Dawson said. “So a lot of the communication stuff and everything comes extremely natural to him.”
After working with Dawson since his arrival earlier this year, Williams said he has grown close to his new coordinator.
“He’s the best,” Williams said. “I’m very blessed to have the good Lord put him here when I just happened to be here. He is amazing. I can’t say enough good things. Phenomenal. I’m excited to keep on working with him.”
The freshman has also gotten a boost from new offensive analyst Max Drisko, the former offensive coordinator at Catholic University. Drisko worked with Dawson at Southern Miss.
“Love that guy, too,” Williams said. “I feel like me and Max Drisko have the same brain sometimes.”
Williams, who was a three-star prospect, had the spring to adjust to college life. Now he says he loves being down in Miami after attending high school near Pensacola.
“It’s been great being down here. It’s fun,” Williams said. “The weather’s always nice. Facilities, as you can see, are amazing. The coaching staff’s great. It’s been awesome down here.
“I would say the biggest takeaway I’ve had so far (is) it’s a grind. It’s a grind. Not only do you have to stay physically ready but mentally ready, too. So combining those two for the first time is the biggest thing I think I’ve learned so far.”
For Williams, being “mentally ready” includes learning how to shake off rough practices and not be too elated when he has success.
“One day you can have a great practice. The next day, boom, you’re right back, and you have a practice maybe you don’t like as much,” Williams said. “You’ve just got to be able to balance those two and just stay level the whole time.”
Williams will likely start his first college season as the third-string quarterback behind the veteran Van Dyke and Brown, who is entering his sophomore season. Williams said he has built strong relationships with his fellow quarterbacks, and they have helped him early in his college career.
“I love the quarterback room,” Williams said. “It’s amazing. I’ve really gotten to know (Brown) since I’ve been here, and same with TVD. Just great guys. I love hanging out with them. The quarterback room, that’s more than half the reason just every day I am able to keep on doing the grind just because they’re great.”