Greg Williams finds 2nd home at Clemson, joins Tigers as their lone in-state signee

Signing to play football at Clemson is a big deal for any kid in South Carolina but it took on a little extra meaning this season.

Swansea linebacker Greg Williams was the lone in-state signee when he made it official and signed with the Tigers on Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period for football.

“I take a lot of pride in it,” Williams said. “It is something special because everybody looks to go in these big time states but we got talent here in South Carolina.”

Two years ago, Northwestern’s Logan Rudolph was Clemson’s lone in-state signee, although Will Swinney, son of head coach Dabo Swinney, walked on and later earned a scholarship.

Before that, Clemson never signed fewer than five players from South Carolina during the Rivals recruiting era beginning in 1999. The Tigers made it to the College Football Playoff the previous four seasons and their footprint expanded from the Southeast.

This year’s 26 signees were from 14 states, including California and Connecticut.

“Clemson and Dabo Swinney have grown into national brands over the course of this decade, and that has naturally multiplied their talent pool and enabled them to now reach into California for elite prospects. So what it comes down to is, there are fewer in-state prospects who are going to meet the bar to be a Clemson take on an annual basis,” said Rivals analyst Paul Strelow. “Now, this year is a bit of an extreme situation because the in-state crop probably trumps 2017 as the leanest this decade. And the Tigers signed eight from South Carolina last cycle, so it’s not as if they’ve turned their nose on the locals. But it used to be routine a decade ago for much of the state’s top 30 to be battled over by Clemson and South Carolina. That’s no longer the case — which is a favorable sign if you’re Clemson, in my opinion. A coaching staff’s job is to procure the best talent it can, from wherever it can.”

Williams comes into a place of need for the Tigers, who are looking to replace several key players on defense. He impressed the Tiger coaches at a camp during the summer and committed in July.

“When I was looking for a college, I was looking for a place that could be a second home,” Williams said. “When I went to Clemson, I was looking around at the atmosphere and people take pride in what they do, even the custodians or managers. Everyone takes pride in what they do. I feel like that was the place for me.”

247Sports ranks Williams as the 11th-best prospect in South Carolina. He was Region 5-3A Defensive Player of the Year with 78 tackles and three interceptions.

He played in the Shrine Bowl, where he had five tackles and a sack. He played inside linebacker as a junior but moved to the outside this season. Strelow said there are comparisons to Williams and Clemson junior linebacker Tre Lamar because of their size.

Lamar would be a good player to learn under, Williams said, if he doesn’t make the jump to the NFL.

There also is a good chance that Williams could move to defensive end at some point in his career with plenty of room to develop on his 6-foot-4, 235 pound frame.

“Coach [Brent] Venables said they are going to sign me at linebacker but I am also going to be an athlete,” Williams said. “If I get bigger, there is possibility I could put my hand in the dirt. I did a little bit of that in rec league but was mostly linebacker in high school. I will do whatever I have to do to make the team to be successful.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 1:43 PM.