CLEMSON, S.C. — For Antonio Williams, running onto the field with his Clemson football teammates at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week was an out-of-body experience.
“Like a video game, to be honest,” he said.
And if his first two career games with the Tigers are any indication, the true freshman wide receiver certainly isn’t playing the game on hard mode.
After catching four passes for 37 yards in his Clemson debut against Georgia Tech last Monday, Williams added three catches for 39 yards Saturday against Furman.
Just like that, the four-star recruit from Irmo’s Dutch Fork High School has established himself as a viable target and legitimate weapon for the No. 5 team in the country — despite playing behind starting slot receiver Brannon Spector in both contests.
“He’s a natural,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “He’s a very skilled route runner. He’s a very poised catcher. He’s got very soft hands, great ball skills and good instincts for the game. … He has a chance to be really special.”
Coaches and teammates had already been raving about the No. 61 recruit in the Class of 2022 through preseason camp, and Williams’ position as the No. 2 slot receiver on Clemson’s Week 1 offensive depth chart behind Spector said as much.
But a stretch of two games in six days last week served as confirmation the same traits that made Williams a Dutch Fork star weren’t just transferable in the long term. They were transferable now.
Making plays in college
Opening his college career in primetime, Williams caught all four of his targets for 37 yards in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Georgia Tech. That included back-to-back catches of seven and 14 yards on a second-half drive that put Clemson up two scores in an eventual 41-10 win.
The 18-year-old was even better in Saturday’s 35-12 victory over the Paladins.
Williams’ first catch, a 19-yarder down the seam, brought Clemson down to Furman’s 8-yard line on a first-quarter touchdown drive. His second, a 23-yarder down the right sideline, set Clemson up at Furman’s 15-yard line for another touchdown right before halftime.
Through two games, Williams is tied with Beaux Collins for the team lead in receptions (seven) while ranking second in yards (76) and yards per game (38.0).
“He’s done an amazing job this whole summer and fall camp, and he’s done an amazing job making plays,” starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei said. “Whenever he gets the ball, he makes the most of it.”
Those explosive tendencies date back to Williams’ career at Columbia-area Dutch Fork, where he lost only one game as a varsity player and helped the Silver Foxes win three 5A state championships while developing into a top 100 national recruit.
The shifty slot receiver averaged 17.9 yards per catch, 12.0 yards per rush and 26.2 yards per punt return at Dutch Fork and especially flourished as a senior with 85 catches for 1,625 yards, a 30.4-yard punt return average and 20 total touchdowns.
He was, essentially, a walking first down: the type of player who “made me look good,” joked Will Taylor, who threw passes to Williams as a Dutch Fork quarterback and now competes alongside him in Clemson’s wide receiver room.
“He’s doing exactly what I thought he’d be doing,” Taylor said.
Recruiting journey
As for doing it at Clemson, though? Even Williams admits he wasn’t sure it was going to happen. The Tigers didn’t extend him a formal scholarship offer until they missed out on four-star Virginia wide receiver Andre Greene Jr. (who chose UNC) in November 2021.
Clemson’s offer came two months after Williams had released a top six schools list that didn’t include the Tigers. The offer also added some serious spice to the final weeks of the 2022 recruiting cycle, considering how long and how hard in-state rival South Carolina had been recruiting Williams.
Williams got his Clemson offer on Nov. 20, 2021 and committed to the Tigers on Dec. 9, 2021, despite a final all-in push by the Gamecocks, which days earlier had sent six of their assistant coaches to Dutch Fork’s state championship game to watch him.
“Clemson is probably the best program in the country,” Williams said. “It was an honor to receive an offer. I don’t think at first I was like, ‘All right, I’m coming to Clemson.’ I still had to think about it a little bit. But it didn’t take long.”
Williams said he appreciated wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham’s transparency with him throughout the recruiting process. Their connection has only grown since Williams enrolled in summer and started a journey toward what he hopes becomes an Amari Rodgers-esque role.
So far, so good. Williams’ four receptions in the season opener were the most by a Clemson true freshman since Ray-Ray McCloud had eight against Wofford in 2015, and he is the Tigers’ No. 2 punt returner behind former high school teammate Taylor.
And though Swinney lovingly calls the 5-foot-11 freshman “that little Antonio,” Williams has already shown there’s more to his game than slot routes and yards after the catch: In the third quarter against Furman, he rose up between two defenders for a contested grab off an Uiagalelei scramble drill and completed the catch despite taking a hit.
An ineligible man downfield penalty nullified Williams’ 15-yard pickup, but it was a sign of progress for a receiver who’s already jumped from “180 pounds if that” to 192 since joining Clemson this summer. He expects to take some outside receiver snaps later this year.
“I definitely want to get stronger,” Williams said.
That’s but one smaller area of improvement for a true freshman “baller” who’s already making big plays for an ACC contender and picking up Swinney compliments galore. His secret? Taking it all in — even if it does sometimes feel like a video game — then letting instincts take over.
“You just have to focus in on your main goal,” Williams said. “You can get into the crowd and looking around, but at the end of the day you just have to do what you do: play football.”
Next Clemson game
Who: Louisiana Tech (1-1) at No. 5 Clemson (2-0)
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
Line: Clemson by 34
