Note: The following appears in the Boston College gameday football program.
Defensive tackle Jordan Williams had the distinct privilege of playing in the same position group as Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins during the prime of their Clemson careers. Williams did not take the opportunity for granted and did what he could to learn from them as a player and as a person.
“It’s not very often you get to watch three first-round draft picks work every day and show you the way. Seeing how those guys show up, the attitude they had and the work they put in, it was so special to watch, and I tried to sit back and soak it in.”
Despite being two years removed from the program, those now NFL players still keep in touch with Williams and other members of the 2020 team, and that continued camaraderie is something he plans to continue when his days at Clemson come to an end.
With those legends of the past now out of the picture in Tigertown, Williams has taken over the role of mentor and leader to the younger players on Clemson’s youthful defensive line.
As a redshirt junior and one of the oldest guys in the defensive line room, he has taken lessons from his mentors and is handing them down to another generation. Despite the line’s youth, Williams speaks very highly of the group’s work ethic and willingness to learn.
“All of the young guys love to work. They take coaching, they want to improve and they are easy to work with. It’s something special that is going to continue to grow and get better for years to come.”
As one of the eldest statesmen on the Clemson defensive front, Williams made his first career start in the 2020 season opener at Wake Forest. After getting limited snaps in his first two seasons, this came as a well-earned achievement for #59.
“There’s been a lot of competition in the defensive line room. Earning that spot was so exciting for me. It’s a different role that I’m ready to take on and fully embrace.”
Williams is another in a long line of highly touted Virginia natives to choose Clemson as the place to continue their football and academic careers. With the likes of Ferrell, K’Von Wallace, Sheridan Jones and Malcolm Greene hailing from the Old Dominion State, the Tigers have found a lot of success in that part of the country.
For Williams, that is not a mere coincidence. The message Clemson and its recruiting staff sends appeals to people from a great state for high school football like Virginia, and it allows the Tigers to show recruits that Clemson is where they need to take their game to the next level.
“Clemson is not a program that offers a bunch of guys, so to get an offer from Clemson was special. With everything we have going on and the culture we’ve built between the winning and the great relationships with the coaching staff, that’s what gets a lot of guys from Virginia.”