Manny Diaz explains why he chose Jarren Williams to start against Florida

Manny Diaz declared a winner on Monday in the three-man quarterback competition for Miami ahead of the Hurricanes game against Florida in Orlando.

The coach said Tuesday that he decided on Sunday that Jarren Williams won the job because of his accuracy, decision making and ability to avoid critical errors. Williams’ instinct of where to put the football set him apart, Diaz said at a press conference, according to Will Manso of WPLG Local10 and the Cinco Razones Deportes Network. Diaz added that he hopes N’Kosi Perry and Tate Martell stay at Miami. The coach admitted that he told both players that they’re each a play away.

As for Williams, Diaz said it’s important that the team has confidence in Williams, the leader of the offense and somebody to rally around, and simply put, “it’s good to have that guy.”

“Dan Enos and I never spoke about who the front-runner was until this past weekend,” Diaz said. “Because we didn’t want any moment to create a bias with the way we watched. There could have been different parts of the year where we thought it could be a different guy. We’ve been pretty consistent about what would be the measuring stick.”

Miami will kick off the season against Florida on Aug. 24.

Canes head coach Manny Diaz it was Sunday when they truly decided that Jarren Williams would be the starter. He said accuracy, decision making and avoiding critical errors a big part of decision. Says what separates Jarren is instinct of where to go w/ ball & feel of the game. pic.twitter.com/kUVyVZJ1EJ

— Will Manso (@WillManso) August 13, 2019

Head Coach, Manny Díaz on when he knew Jarren Williams was the starting QB. pic.twitter.com/elekRXAIaC

— Cinco Razones Deportes Network (@CincoRazonesNet) August 13, 2019

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.