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Wide receiver Mike Williams was a star in college, but apparently, he wasn’t sure about his decision to attend Clemson on commitment day. The pass catcher detailed his pledge in a recent interview, giving a wild story about a last-minute change of heart.
Williams revealed that he’d originally planned to attend rival South Carolina before picking up the Tigers hat during his ceremony.
A Palmetto State native, his recruitment came down to the two most prominent programs in South Carolina – the Gamecocks and the Tigers.
At the time of that process, Dabo Swinney was just starting to get things rolling for Clemson while Steve Spurrier had positioned South Carolina as a perennial Top 10 team.
Initially, he said he was leaning towards the Gamecocks, but something changed on commitment day. He filled fans in on what led to the shift this week.
In an interview with the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Williams said the choice was somewhat spontaneous, though a number of things went into swaying the decision.
The story of how @darealmike_dub landed at Clemson instead of South Carolina is hilarious 😂 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/NW21gNgk3g
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) August 23, 2023
“On the day I went to commit, I just picked the Clemson hat. I swear. I told my family that I was going to South Carolina. It was like 30 minutes from the crib, and then on commitment day, I grabbed the South Carolina hat, put it down, and grabbed the Clemson hat.
“My mom was like, ‘What are you doing?'”
Williams later said that speaking with one of his high school coaches, as well as evaluating the position groups on the two offenses also played a part.
“My high school coach had a long talk with me because he knew I was going to South Carolina. He wanted me to go to Clemson. He had a long talk with me before. We delayed the [commitment] and all, and he was leaning towards Clemson. So, I picked Clemson.
“Talking about QB situation, South Carolina didn’t have a real elite QB. Clemson had some guys coming in. Receivers – had to learn from Sammy [Watkins] and them. South Carolina didn’t have nobody, but I was like, ‘I’m gonna go to South Carolina and be the star.'”
He decided against being the star in Columbia.
Williams would go on to have an All-Conference career at Clemson, leading the ACC in receptions as a senior. He also became a thorn in the side of the program he initially intended to play for.