Clemson Football: Freshman Antonio Williams played as advertised

There are times where I remind our readers of all the preseason hype around various Clemson football players and use them as examples of why I tend to wait until we see it on the field before extolling anything other than “potential” that a young player may have, especially true freshmen.

Antonio Williams  was one of those young freshman who was hyped throughout the preseason and perhaps it was more pronounced in our minds since the slot was a position that Clemson struggled at mightily last season.

Williams was targeted four times Monday night and came away with four receptions for 37 yards, with a long of 14 yards and one first down.

Those could be read as pedestrian numbers and perhaps they are, but they’re a start and Williams showed enough glimpses that even the TV announcers stood up and noticed.

The underlying stats show me what I need to know: 38 yards after the catch, means he’s catching high percentage balls at or behind the line of scrimmage (his average depth of target was -0.3 yards) and making his yards after the catch.

Yes, the Tigers need to go deep more often, but these high percentage passes going for negative yards or little gain last season was part of the issue with the Clemson offense.

Antonio Williams caught the eye of Clemson football fans and the TV announcers in flashing his talent in his first college game

Brannon Spector also contributed from the slot with 2 receptions for 11 yards (18 YAC) on three targets, but he doesn’t possess the speed and elusiveness of Williams (Williams had 1 missed tackle forced).

Still, it’s one game against a likely poor to mediocre opponent and there will be bigger tests down the line for Williams and we should adjust expectations accordingly.

Outside of the play of backup quarterback Cade Klubnik, I’m not sure of a better development on the offensive side of the ball than the play of Williams, a true freshman in his first collegiate game.