Williams says he underachieved in his freshman year

Antonio Williams is pushing for more in 2023.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Mar 19 07:00:15 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Antonio Williams was Clemson’s best receiver in 2022, but he feels like he underachieved during his freshman campaign.

Williams, the rising sophomore out of Irmo (SC) Dutch Fork, led Clemson with 56 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns last year, playing in all 14 games and adding 129 yards on 15 punt returns.

He looks to be even better in 2023.

“Oh, for sure. My freshman year was just a start,” Williams said. “I'm looking to build off of that, especially, with this new Air Raid offense. We're going to sling the ball around. It's going to be a lot of fun."

New offensive coordinator Garrett Riley brings that Air Raid offense to Clemson, and Riley’s receivers excelled at TCU last season. Quentin Johnson led the Horned Frogs with 60 receptions for 1069 yards, averaging 17.82 yards per catch. Derius Davis added 42 receptions and Taye Barber added 37, and 19 different receivers ended the season with a reception as well.

Williams said he is looking forward to seeing what he can do in the offense, but he also knows that running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah can’t be forgotten.

"I mean, honestly, they call it Air Raid offense,” he said. “So, we're going to pass the ball for sure but at the same time, we're still going to run. We got Will Shipley back there and Phil Mafah so we got to get them the ball. I think it's going to be faster. We got a lot of up-tempo, [fast] pace going. We've signaling faster. We're just going to be moving the ball really fast."

Williams said the Air Raid has been easier to learn than the offense Clemson used last season.

"Yeah, actually, I think is probably easier than our last offense. Definitely, moving faster,” he said. “We started out late first day of practice. We were already moving fast. I don't think I've had any major missed assignments. So yeah, it's definitely easy to learn."

However, he hopes he has a better season, and the entire receiver room is better.

"I feel like I underachieved and as a group we underachieved,” Williams said. “We have a high standard here and we definitely didn't meet those expectations last year. But it's a new year and we got something to prove."

Where does he want to improve the most? He wants to be the main man in the new offense.

"Just like you said, just being that alpha dog and that go-to guy in those tough situations where we need a first down, touchdown, a big play,” Williams said. “I'll make that play and then turn short routes and screens into big plays."

He also wants to become more of a vocal leader.

"That's something I'm definitely looking forward to getting better at -- just leading this group,” he said. “Usually, during high school or middle school, I was more of a - not a vocal leader - but I'll do it and others would follow. But I'm definitely trying to step into that role."