What Antonio Williams said about South Carolina visit, recruiting plans for summer
South Carolina has made Antonio Williams a priority for its Class of 2022 recruiting.
The new Gamecocks coaching staff got an up-close look at the Dutch Fork rising senior receiver on Friday as Williams took an unofficial visit.
Williams didn’t take part in a workout but spent plenty of time with the Gamecocks coaching staff. He was offered by the USC coaching staff in November.
“I had a great time. We toured the whole campus, met all the coaches. Me and my family ate lunch with head coach Shane Beamer and coach Justin Stepp,” Williams said Friday after the visit.
South Carolina was the first of a busy month for Williams and other recruits across the state and country. Potential prospects weren’t allowed to make any on-campus visits for more than a year because of COVID-19 restrictions.
But the NCAA loosened those restrictions and allowed for visits and camps to begin on Tuesday. Most schools have camps and visits set up for mostly every day throughout the month of June.
Williams has trips planned to Clemson (June 6), Georgia (June 12), Auburn (June 13) and Ole Miss (June 18-19). All of those schools except Clemson were listed in Williams’ top 15 he released earlier this week. Clemson is yet to offer but has been in touch on a regular basis.
Ole Miss is where his stepfather, Murphy Holloway, a former Dutch Fork basketball standout, attended college.
Williams is part of a talented receiving group at Dutch Fork, which includes rising junior Devin Hyatt, who visited Georgia earlier this week and was offered by Alabama on Saturday.. Silver Foxes receiver Nick Wright also is starting to get college interest.
Williams talked with The State last month about the recruiting process and what he is looking for in a potential landing spot.
“Just to come and be a guy to contribute and be my first year there to make plays,” Williams said. “I just want to go somewhere with a great coaching staff that will make me better and get me ready for the (NFL).”
Stepp, the new Gamecocks receivers coach, has been handling Williams’ recruiting. Stepp has coached several future NFL players during his stops at SMU and Arkansas, including current Denver Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton.
“He is a great coach and a great guy. I could tell that from the first time I talked to him,” Williams said. “I like the relationships he has built with his guys he has coached and recruited. He told me a story about how he named his son after Courtland Sutton, which I thought was pretty cool.”
247Sports ranks Williams as a four-star prospect and No. 4 recruit in South Carolina for the Class of 2022. He is ranked as 22nd-best receiver in the country and already has committed to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-American game.
Williams broke his collarbone during his sophomore year but had a breakout year as a junior in helping the Silver Foxes to their fifth consecutive Class 5A championship. He had 51 catches for 837 yards and eight touchdowns.
Williams also shines on special teams returning to punts for touchdowns and averaging 28.7 yards per kickoff return. He finished the year with 1,504 all-purpose yards.
“He is fast, quick, strong and runs good routes, releases,” said Jason Barnes, a former receivers coach at Dutch Fork who recently took a job at Georgia Military College. “He has soft hands, good attitude. He can take over the game returning the ball. He is very impressive with the ball in his hands and in space. He doesn’t mind blocking either.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2021 at 2:19 PM with the headline "What Antonio Williams said about South Carolina visit, recruiting plans for summer."
