The Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan did it. They finally added a wide receiver who can be considered a starter. The Steelers acquired Mike Williams from the New York Jets on Tuesday. He’s been in the headlines a bit this season thanks to his rocky relationship with Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. But who is he really?
Multi-Sport (And Multiple Position) Athlete In High School
Williams attended Lake Marion High School in Santee, S.C. It was there that he got noticed by colleges such as Alabama and Clemson before signing the Tigers. But he wasn’t just a football player as he played basketball as well.
“Basketball was my first love,” Williams said during an interview on “What’s In The Box?” for Whistle. “I played all throughout high school.”
And even on the football field, he wasn’t always just a wide receiver. He played quarterback and running back as well before focusing entirely on wide receiver as a junior and senior.
Jersey Retired At Lake Marion
And once Williams made the commitment to wide receiver, he became a legend at Lake Marion. As a junior, his first season (mostly) fully focused on wide receiver, he caught 66 passes for 1,296 yards and 11 touchdowns. That’s 19.6 yards per catch. Then as a senior, he had 60 catches for 1,395 yards and 10 touchdowns (23.3 yards per catch). So Williams has always been a big-play guy dating back to high school.
Lake Marion retired Williams’ No. 7 jersey in 2018.
“It feels good, man,” said Williams during an interview with ABC 25 in Columbia, S.C. “Everything started here on this football field. Felt like I did everything I possible could for this school, gave everything I had to this school.”
As for why I wrote (mostly) fully focused, Lake Marion had Williams line up at quarterback a few times as a junior. He completed 20 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns that season.
Still Committed To His Hometown
Even though Williams played in South Carolina for both high school and college, he started his NFL career on the West Coast. He was selected seventh overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers. For context, it’s approximately 200 miles from Santee, S.C. to Clemson University. It’s over 2,400 miles from Santee to SoFi Stadium, home of the Chargers.
But even though Williams was on the opposite side of the country, he still cared deeply about his hometown. And in 2018, Williams held his first football camp at Lake Marion.
“Everybody knows me out here. It’s all good vibes,” Williams during an interview with ESPN’s Kaila Burns-Heffner. “I feel like I am that example for the community so I’m just going to live up to it.”
And the camp isn’t just about football, either. In 2021, Williams gave away backpacks and school supplies to the kids with the intention of helping them be successful in the classroom, too.
“I was always taught school first,” Williams said during an interview with WIS10. “My coaches always told me if I didn’t have the grades, then I couldn’t make it out.”
Williams cares about helping all of the kids of his hometown whether they’re going to be football players or not. He remembers being a kid in Santee as well, wanting something just like this.
“I always wanted someone to look up to in the community, come back and host camps for me and my homies,” Williams said. “I didn’t have that. I wanted to come out here and start this tradition.”
Explosive Final Season As A Tiger
Williams showed off his potential early at Clemson. Unfortunately for him and the Tigers, his third season was cut short when he fractured a bone in his neck after colliding with the goalpost on a touchdown catch. It was Clemson’s first drive of the season, and he missed the rest of the year.
But Williams overcame the injury to put on one of the best displays of receiving Clemson has ever seen. Williams had 98 catches for 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2016. That included a three-touchdown performance against in-state rival South Carolina.
The 98 catches? Second-most in a single season at Clemson. The 1,361 receiving yards were the third-highest season total. It capped a stellar career for Williams, one in which he left Clemson with the third-most receiving touchdowns in a career, fourth-most receiving yards, and fifth-most catches.
Williams had a touchdown reception in the national championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, too. In the biggest game of his college career, Williams had eight catches for 94 yards and the aforementioned touchdown in Clemson’s 35-31 victory.
Mike Williams The Sneakerhead
Williams is all about personal style. From the Whole Lotta brand he had in college and early in his NFL career to just showing his personality through gameday outfits, Williams wants to look good. And a big part of that is the sneakers on his feet.
That’s why he was on “What’s In The Box?” referenced earlier. The host, Jacques Slade, gave Williams three new pairs of sneakers to learn more about him. And at the end, Slade asked him about where his sneaker collection ranks across the NFL.
“I don’t know, that’s tough,” Williams said. “I know some dudes who got some heat, though. But I think I’m up there competing with them.”
And in terms of NFL players’ styles he looks up to, he had to shout out former (two-time) teammate and current Jets backup QB Tyrod Taylor as well as Deion Sanders.
