1-3 Clemson may have floundered in September, but Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney knows that Antonio Williams has emerged as a steadying voice.
Swinney emphasized his redshirt sophomore wideout’s growing off-field role during his weekly press conference Tuesday morning in Clemson.
“We’ve got people who love this place,” Swinney said. A kid like Antonio Williams, for example. He was kind of nonchalant and casual [before]. I mean, he and I didn’t get along very well his freshman year. He’ll be the first one to tell you that. But to see him now, who he is as a man, the leader that he’s grown into, his heart, to see him stand up and speak. I’m not surprised, but impressed.”
Such remarks came after the 17th-year head coach was asked if there were any players who had emerged as leaders. Without hesitation, Swinney volunteered Williams’ name, showing his confidence in Clemson’s top receiving threat as a teammate.
Tigers center Ryan Linthicum echoed Swinney’s opinion on Williams’ emergence as a leader. “I’m really proud of his leadership this year, especially,” the senior lineman said Tuesday. “He’s a guy that we can count on on the field, but also off the field. He’s very passionate, and he’s real. You can tell when somebody’s real, and I’m just so proud of Antonio.”
Linthicum is confident that Clemson is taking the proper lessons from their slow start. “I think adversity is huge,” he said. “It teaches you lessons that you’ll learn as a football player and as a man. This team has accepted that challenge and I think we’re ready to roll.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2025, Swinney has confidence in his squad’s resolve. He noted a couple weeks back that his program has always responded to adversity, and he expects nothing less from this season’s team.
“[I’m] impressed by a lot of these guys,” Swinney said. “Everybody’s disappointed and all that stuff, but man, there’s a long way to go. There’s a lot of ball left.”
That “ball” starts on Saturday afternoon when Clemson (1-3, 0-2 ACC) travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2, 0-0 ACC). The matchup will be Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick’s conference debut, along with the Tigers’ first visit to UNC since 2019. Last time the two teams met, No. 1 Clemson escaped Kenan Stadium with a 21-20 victory over the 2-2 Tar Heels in 2019. It remains to be seen if the two will play another epic this weekend.
