Indiana football receiver E.J. Williams says former team lost trust in him: 'It was tough'
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football receiver E.J. Williams hasn’t had the career arc he envisioned.
Williams capped off a breakout year as a true freshman at Clemson with an electric performance in the 2020 ACC Championship game. He caught a 33-yard touchdown in the 34-10 win over No. 2 Notre Dame and made a memorable one-handed grab late in the third quarter.
It’s two years later and he’s still in search of another moment in the spotlight, but with a new team and coaching staff hoping to help him reach his true potential.
"Earlier in his career he played a little bit more, in order to get good at football you have to play football,” Indiana coach Anthony Tucker said on Monday. “He's got a ton of reps since he's been here, he's been in our offseason program, spring and I think he's in a really prime position in his development and what he's doing for us to get what he came here to do.”
Why E.J. Williams entered the transfer portal
Williams’ playing time at Clemson fell off after his freshman year.
He played less than 500 snaps combined in 2021 and 2022 (498) and only had one more target during that two-year span, 41, than he had during his freshman year, according to Pro Football Focus.
Injuries were a factor, but there were other reasons that Williams ultimately fell down the depth chart.
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"I'd probably say not having as much trust, the coaches didn't trust me as much,” Williams said. “I would say part of it was my fault, but I would say it's kind of hand-in-hand both ways. I'd say they also wanted another person to start. I ain't really tripping on it too much, it is what it is."
It wasn’t an easy stretch for a receiver that was ranked among the top 150 players in the 2020 signing class on all the major recruiting services coming out of Central High School in Phenix City.
“My sophomore year I got hurt and when I came back I started repping with the twos, I've never been a two in my life,” Williams said. “You got to fight through that, it was kind of hard. You just got to fight through that and keep pushing. It was tough, but it's just a [mindset].”
Indiana football lacks proven receivers
Indiana was the perfect landing spot for Williams considering the offense lacks much of the way in proven depth at the position.
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The Hoosiers top returning receiver, Cam Camper, is rehabbing his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in October last year and Williams is the only other receiver on the roster with more than 20 career catches at the FBS level.
The coaching staff has high hopes the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder will help improve an Indiana passing offense that ranked No. 87 out of 130 FBS teams in the country last year.
“E.J. Williams is just elevating, just keeps getting better with confidence,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football receiver E.J. Williams says former team Clemson lost trust in him
