WR Mike Williams (6'4 210, 4.7 40), of Lake Marion HS in Santee, committed to Clemson today over SC. Williams is the #3 player in-state and #37 WR overall nationally by Rivals. He's the #2 WR in-state behind Tramel Terry. He has a 4-star rating that I think is fair. Williams basically picked between Clemson and SC, and it has always been between the two of us, but had offers from Alabama, UGA, Notre Dame, and Tennessee.
Williams is a big WR with excellent leaping ability; he high-points the ball well. His ball skills and route running are good. He needs it because he's not a speedster, which is probably what prevents him from getting to a 5.9 or higher marker. This is a WR more like Alshon Jeffery or Sidney Rice than what we have on the roster today, though not as fast as either in my opinion. He is very similar to Quinshad Davis, who we passed on last winter. In HS, Brandon Ford was a bit like Williams, but I dont think Williams will put on the weight quite like Ford.
Williams is the last take at WR, but Clemson has shown that they will go the distance to oversign for Marquez North, who is down to Clemson and UNC. My gut feeling leans towards UNC landing North. We're willing to take another WR only because of expected early losses at the position: Watkins is unlikely to still be here after 2013, and theres a possibility of Hopkins leaving this winter, in addition to the usual possibility of a transfer.
Williams was recruited by Marion Hobby, with Jeff Scott. As a Soph. he had 42 catches for 700+ yards and 5 TDs. As a junior, he pulled in 65 receptions for 1269 yards and 12 TDs.