A priority wide receiver traveled to Clemson this past weekend for the program’s Elite Junior Day.
It was Lakeland (Fla.) High School four-star WR Tyler Williams’ first time on campus and he wanted to see if Clemson would potentially be a fit in his recruitment.
Williams returned to the Sunshine State on Sunday with a Clemson offer in hand and a better feel and understanding for the coaches and the program itself.
“It was great,” he told The Clemson Insider regarding his junior day visit. “It was a good opportunity and, of course, I got offered and got to see a lot and what position I could be put in if I were to go to Clemson.
“I would be put in a great position. You see the numbers of wide receivers being produced through Clemson, it’s very impressive. Even Coach Dabo, he’s also a receivers coach. For the most part, he was letting me know how they run practices and things like that in my position group.”
For Williams, it felt “great” to earn a Clemson offer. Prior to this weekend, Clemson had only offered four wide receivers in the 2023 recruiting class and two of them were on campus this weekend: Edison (Miami, Fla.) four-star Nathaniel Joseph and Rolesville (Raleigh, N.C.) four-star Noah Rogers.
“All of us spent a fair amount of time with (Coach Grisham). On the bus, we all sat with each other,” Williams said. “We ate with each other. We went to the meeting room together. We were joking and laughing because out of us three, I’m the most photogenic. We was taking pictures and they kind of didn’t know what to do.”
Joseph verbally pledged to the Tigers on Sept. 11, 2021, while Clemson offered Rogers and Hickory Ridge (Harrisburg, N.C.) four-star wideout Christian Hamilton on Jan. 12 and Christmas Day, respectively. While the Tigers offered the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver in American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) five-star, Brandon Inniss, he hasn’t returned to campus since he camped at the Dabo Swinney Camp this past summer.
According to Williams, Clemson told him that they are looking to take up to three wide receivers in his class because they’re likely to be losing a number of wideouts after the 2022 season.
“That lets me know that I’m one of their top guys that they’re looking for coming into next year,” he said.
That was evident even before this weekend as Clemson wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham made numerous trips to Lakeland High School since December 2021. Williams finally had a chance to have some one-on-one face time with Grisham and even Swinney.
“It was great. We talked a lot,” Williams said of Grisham. “We was texting before, but meeting him in person and meeting his family, I was able to get a feel for who he really is. Coach Dabo, we also talked a lot. He let me know things, like an offer to come to Clemson is not an everyday thing. They don’t offer a lot of guys. Also, Coach Grisham let me know things that I need to work on this upcoming season.”
Williams said that his first visit to Clemson exceeded his expectations and was actually more than he thought it would be. His mother and his position coach at Lakeland tagged along for this weekend’s visit. According to Williams, they loved everything Clemson had to offer.
As far as a return visit to Clemson is concerned, Williams said he has to work out his schedule and determine if he can make it back up to The Valley in either the spring or the summer. If not, he’ll definitely be up for a game day and hopes to take an official visit to Clemson at some point during the 2022 season.
“They helped themselves a lot in my recruitment, I would say,” Williams said. “They’re somewhere in my favorite of all my offers I got, I’d say they’re somewhere in my top-10.”
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