When E.J. Williams had his most productive college season, he was an 18-year-old catching passes from Trevor Lawrence at Clemson.
Yeah, it’s been a minute.
That was the 2020 COVID season, when Williams appeared ready to live up to the hype as a true freshman. A national top-100 4-star recruit, he caught 24 passes for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns in his college debut campaign, and his NFL debut appeared to just be a matter of time.
But Williams would only catch 16 passes over the next two seasons combined at Clemson, and he transferred to IU to play for Tom Allen in 2023.
Williams emerged late in 2023 after battling injuries, and posted 23 catches for 281 yards. Once again, he appeared to be on the right path.
He decided to stay at IU when the Hoosiers hired Curt Cignetti, but competing in a stacked receiver room and once again struggling to stay healthy, Williams caught just two passes in four games and decided to take a redshirt season and transfer. That was a decision that seemed certain to end his ties to Indiana.
But when Williams was on a visit at another school, he got a call from Cignetti, who would later say the obvious — he wanted Williams to come back.
And Williams? He was a part of three seasons at Clemson of 10 wins or more. He saw his Indiana teammates go on to win 11 games after he decided to take the redshirt season.
His best chance to keep winning was on line one.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of good teams,” Williams said in the spring. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but you know by the way teams practice and work in the weight room. You know what it looks like. You know by the execution of plays, the aggressiveness, how fast everybody is flying around to the ball.
“I saw that when I was at Clemson my freshman year being part of that environment. These guys that (Coach Curt Cignetti) brought in turned Indiana into a power in the Big Ten. It’s fun to be part of something like that.”
Indiana put two wide receivers in the NFL following the 2024 season. Myles Price is with the Minnesota Vikings, and Ke’Shawn Williams the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miles Cross departed as well. The opportunity was there for Williams to come back and see significant snaps.
And Williams wanted to be challenged by Cignetti.
“One of the main things coming back to Indiana was really Coach Cignetti and his coaching style,” Williams said on Saturday.
“He is really assertive, in your face. He’s a ‘I want this and if you can’t do it, you’re getting out of here. I want a guy that’s going to be the best and that’s going to get the job done.’ With a coach like that, he’s really paying attention and really wants you to be on the details. It’s going to help me in my career and I felt like I would be a good help to this program.”
Whatever differences or disagreements Williams and Cignetti had, they both put them aside. And now both are reaping the benefits.
About to turn 24 in a couple weeks, Williams scored his first touchdown in 1,721 days against Kennesaw State on Sept. 6. He had last found the end zone in the ACC Conference Championship game against Notre Dame on Dec. 19, 2020.
He has since gone on to match his career-high for receptions in a season with 24, and he now has new career highs with 321 receiving yards and five touchdowns. All of his prior bests for a season in all of those categories also came five years ago in 2020. And Williams obviously has at least five more games to add to his most productive college season.
“It’s great to get big plays from E.J. He’s got a lot of talent,” Cignetti said on Saturday following Williams’ first career 100-yard receiving game. “I’ve always been really high on him.”
And now Williams, who appeared to have left IU for good a year ago, has become the program’s top recruiter.
He made this post on his X page last week:
The Phenix City, Ala. product has finally found his home away from home.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
