CLEMSON – An athletic career can be a fickle thing, and a Clemson defender always has a smile on because of that reality.

Defensive tackle Tre Williams missed almost all of his freshman season and a majority of the 2023 season due to shoulder surgery rehab, which made him realize how much football means to him. It’s something he won’t take for granted and he talked about it after spring practice.

“Every year means everything to me because I know what it feels like not to have football so every year I get football, it just means everything to me,” Williams said.

Heading into his redshirt senior season, Williams knows that he will be taking over a void in the leadership department with both Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro headed to the NFL draft.

“I have to be worried about more than just me. I’ve got to make sure the young guys fall in line to what the guys in front of me instilled in us and just pay it forward to them because somebody did it for me,” Williams said.

As a player, Williams is taking after Davis and working on his technique the most for 2024. He called the former Tiger the “ultimate technician” and it’s something he wants to match as he enters a crucial season.

In the last five games of 2023, Williams got back on the field as a main piece of the defensive rotation and now he’s right at the top of it next to DeMonte Capehart and Payton Page. Peter Woods will move all around the defensive line but that trio has the responsibility in the middle.

Williams’ contagious smile is a representation of what this sport means to him. If he’s able to remain healthy, that work ethic will pay off for both Clemson and the veteran defender.