Former Clemson star Mike Williams was having a huge game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 24 in Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season.

Unfortunately, after catching seven passes for 121 yards with a touchdown and making a highlight-reel diving grab in the contest, Williams had to be carted off the field after going down with an injury late in the third quarter.

An MRI confirmed Williams suffered a torn ACL, which forced the Los Angeles Chargers wideout to miss the rest of the season.

Williams met with the media recently and provided an update on his injury timeline, telling reporters that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery.

“I’m slightly ahead. I’m in the right space,” said Williams, who underwent successful surgery to repair the torn ACL in late October. “Just taking it one day at a time, that’s the main thing. It’s a process, so just taking it one day at a time, but I’m ahead of the process.”

“It’s just timelines and stuff we were kind of trying to meet, and I’m hitting those timelines ahead of schedule,” he added. “So, everything is looking good.”

The 6-foot-4, 218-pound playmaker said he doesn’t really have a target date for when he expects to be back on the field, but “it’ll be soon,” and he kept things close to the vest when asked if he’s returned to running at this point in his rehab process.

“I don’t know. Y’all going to see in a little bit I guess,” he said, laughing.

Prior to suffering the season-ending injury, Williams recorded 19 receptions for 249 yards and one touchdown in limited 2023 action.

Overall in his productive NFL career (2017-23), which has been set back at times by injuries, the former first-team All-ACC selection and 2016 national champion at Clemson has amassed 309 catches for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Williams acknowledged that being sidelined for most of the 2023 season was “hard” for him, as he couldn’t take the field to help his struggling Chargers team.

“Just watching every game, just wanting to be out there to help the guys get a ‘W’. That was the main thing,” he said. “Just me being the player that I am, I want to be out there to help the guys win and I wasn’t able to do that. So yeah, my main focus was just to get back 100 percent.”

The Chargers, who finished the season 5-12, parted ways with head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco in mid-December following a blowout loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.

Williams called it “tough” to see Telesco go, especially considering he selected Williams in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2017 draft and gave Williams a three-year, $60 million extension after his career year in 2021.

“Obviously Tom, a guy who believed in me, so gave me the opportunity. I thank him for that,” Williams said. “Talked to him after that situation. But yeah, I feel like the next people who come in here are going to do a good job also, so excited to see who it’s going to be.”

As for who the new head coach and GM will be, Williams knows that’s out of his hands.

“That’s a lot of stuff we can’t control for real,” he said. “So, that’s not really something I can control, who we bring in, who’s going to be the GM, the head coach and the guys that he wants to be a part of this team.

“But I know what I’m capable of doing. I know that I’m going to come back stronger, faster and better after this injury, so I just got to focus on what I can focus on, and that’s me getting back better.”