How Clemson football freshman Antonio Williams became Tigers' top wide receiver
CLEMSON – Clemson’s top wide receiver is a freshman who is barely three months past his 18th birthday.
Antonio Williams leads Clemson in receptions (29), yards (375) and has two touchdowns. In each of the past four games, he’s been the top target among wide receivers with at least five catches or 75 yards.
His emergence has been as quick as his first step in a pass pattern. It was unexpected for the most part because Clemson has an NFL talent in Joseph Ngata and he’s finally been able to stay healthy. The Tigers also have Beaux Collins, who came on as a freshman last season and scored touchdowns in his first four games.
Fifth-ranked Clemson (8-0, 6-0 ACC) has an open date this weekend before playing Nov. 5 at Notre Dame (4-3). The Irish play Saturday (noon, ABC) at No. 16 Syracuse (6-1), which suffered its first defeat last week at Clemson, 27-21.
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“I have a lot of trust in Antonio,” Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei said. “Antonio’s done a really good job of being consistent week in and week out. He’s just working and making big plays. I don’t think he’s dropped any footballs. He’s just super-consistent on his routes and reading coverages and knowing where to be.”
Ngata has been fine if not the expected alpha of the Clemson wide receivers. He has 20 catches for 324 yards but just one touchdown. Collins, meanwhile, after scoring eight touchdowns in 10 games going back to last season, did not even have a catch in the past two games. He had four receptions for 58 yards and a score against Boston College, but his total for three other games in the past month was one catch for 14 yards.
Williams averaged 28 snaps in the first three games. It’s up to 51 in the past five as he matched a career high with 63 against Syracuse.
“He’s playing like he’s a junior or senior,” Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “Nothing has caused him to slow down at all. He plays fast in every situation. You’ve seen him catch the ball down the field in one-on-one coverage, tight coverage. You’ve seen him create a lot of separation just by his route running. He’s learning every week, but he’s done some really, really good things. … You guys can see it yourselves. Not just with his speed but the way he runs routes, how he manipulates defenders and just understands leverage and those type of things.”
Williams said didn’t get a college offer until his junior season at Dutch Fork High School, where his quarterback was Clemson wide receiver Will Taylor. They now share punt-returning duties for the Tigers. Williams became a four-star recruit, considered top-10 nationally at his position, and eventually landed 23 offers from Power Five programs plus Notre Dame. He was apparently leaning toward Ole Miss until Clemson came along.
“Clemson was my last offer,” Williams said. “It kind of took a while. I didn’t know it was going to happen. But I’m glad they offered me and it’s probably the best decision I’ve made in my life.”
Williams is not the biggest, 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, but he said he needs to add more physicality to his game.
“I try to use my quickness. Sometimes you can’t get away with just that,” Williams said. “So being more physical while making a move to get more separation. … But I feel like I’m an explosive player just making something happen every chance I get.”
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football's top receiver, Antonio Williams just turned 18
