During his career at Clemson, Mike Williams became perhaps the best wide receiver in the country.

After suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2015 season, Williams bounced back to have one of the best season by a wide receiver in school history in 2016. He hauled in 98 passes for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns in helping the Tigers win the program’s first national championship in 35 years.

For his efforts he was named a First-Team All-American and was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Charges.

Williams finished his Clemson career as one of the program’s most decorated wide receivers in history. In three seasons he caught 177 passes for 2,727 yards and 21 touchdowns in 42 games. He finished his Clemson career third in receiving touchdowns, fourth in receiving yards and fifth in receptions.

When he got to Clemson, a lot of people compared Williams to Deandre Hopkins, especially by the way he could go up and highpoint the football. Those were hard shoes to fill, but Williams lived up those expectations.

When he got to Clemson last year, Tee Higgins was being compared to Mike Williams. From a physical standpoint, you can see why.

Like Williams, Higgins arrived at Clemson with the same tall and lean body type. So everyone knew it might take a little time for him to show his potential.

“Any guy from high school to college, you are going to have to come in and work so saying that, you can’t come in thinking like you are the guy,” Higgins said recently. “There is already somebody in front of you. So you have to come in and work. I never really thought about it like that.”

At 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, Higgins was going to have to put some weight and muscle on to compete with the game’s physicality, especially as he emerges as a go-to guy for the Tigers.

“You have to be physical with a doubt. If you are not physical, there is nothing you can do,” Higgins said.

When Williams left Clemson following the 2016 season, he stood at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, nearly 30 pounds bigger than he was when he arrived at Clemson three years earlier.

In his first season, Williams became a serious threat in Clemson’s rotation late in the season when he caught three passes at Virginia for 39 yards and then followed that the next week vs. Georgia Tech with 3 more receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Against The Citadel the following week, he hauled in 3 more passes for 70 yards and scored another touchdown.

Williams finished his freshman season with 20 catches for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns, while averaging 15.8 yards per reception.

Does the sound familiar?

Like Williams, Higgins came on strong for the Tigers towards the end of the year. His breakout game came against The Citadel late in the year when he caught 6 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. The following week against South Carolina, he brought in 3 passes for 84 yards, setting up two of the Tigers’ first-half touchdowns.

“I felt I could contribute early, but I don’t think the coaching staff thought I was ready,” the freshman said. “They gave me a chance in The Citadel game and once I got that first catch, that was all I needed and it has gone on from there.”

Higgins also caught three passes against Wake Forest for 39 yards earlier in the season. When the season was complete, the freshman caught 17 passes for 345 yards and scored two touchdowns. He averaged 20.3 yards per reception.

The Oak Ridge, Tenn., native’s most memorable play was a 32-yard touchdown reception in the end zone against The Citadel where he tipped the ball up in the air twice and then somehow was able to corral the ball securely before it hit the ground. In the same game, he later made a one-handed catch down the sideline on a 78-yard touchdown where he tight-roped the near sideline to stay in bounds.

“A lot of my friends and my family were so glad saying, ‘you had the game you could have.’  Just going out there and playing my game,” Higgins said. “They said I looked like I was having fun.”

Clemson fans hope there are a lot more days for Higgins to have fun in a Clemson uniform, especially as he competes to be the Tigers’ new starter with Deon Cain off to the NFL.