A returning Clemson star was pegged among the top college football players who spurned the 2025 NFL Draft.
CBS Sports highlighted Tigers wide receiver Antonio Williams as one of the top 11 players who decided not to go pro after the 2024 season, and instead opted to return to school for another season.
“Williams became the first Clemson player since Sammy Watkins in 2012 to log a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown in the same season while starring as the Tigers’ most dynamic offensive threat last season,” CBS Sports’ Will Backus wrote. “He also led the ACC with 11 touchdowns receiving and had three multi-touchdown games.”
In his third year at Clemson in 2024, Williams was a first-team All-ACC selection after recording career highs with 75 receptions, 904 receiving yards and the aforementioned 11 receiving touchdowns. He also added seven carries for 101 yards and a touchdown and went 2-for-2 passing for 62 yards with a touchdown pass.
Williams, who was a freshman All-American in 2022, will enter the 2025 season with 153 career receptions for 1,732 yards and 17 touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder has caught at least one pass in each of the 33 games he has appeared in while at Clemson.
Williams announced on Jan. 3 that he would be returning to Clemson for the 2025 season rather than entering the NFL Draft, saying in an Instagram post, “More to be done.”
Williams is one of two wide receivers on the CBS Sports list of top players who spurned the draft, along with Oregon’s Evan Stewart.
Former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, now in the ACC after transferring Miami, made the list.