The journey of UNC football's Antonio Williams, from four-star recruit to locker room MVP

As Antonio Williams sits at one of the round tables in the Kenan Football Center’s fifth-floor lounge, he takes a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders.

Four days before the UNC senior running back’s final home game of the year against Mercer, he seemed to be at peace. The same player who often times last year said he ran “angry” when thinking of his doubters — and this season, has carried the ball fewer times than first-year quarterback Sam Howell — seemed content with what he’s accomplished.  

“We love this game. It means so much to us,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a game. Don’t let this game stress you out to the point where it just messes you up mentally. Stay positive. There’s bigger things in life that we have to worry about.” 

Williams began to put things into perspective in fall 2016, as a first-year at Ohio State. Still, it took three more years for him to break the correlation between his happiness and on-field productivity. 

The New London, N.C. native was a four-star prospect and the seventh-best running back in the country in the class of 2016, according to 247Sports. When he first arrived in Columbus, Ohio, he thought he’d dominate. 

It didn’t exactly play out that way, though. 

“I was like, ‘Oh I’m about to go up here, and I’m about to be the man immediately,’” Williams recalled. “Woo, no, sir. No, sir. That humbled me a lot.” 

Williams saw the field in just one game as a first-year. During his sophomore year, he played in eight games, but totaled only 290 rushing yards on the season. 

Finally, the following spring semester, he decided to search for a new opportunity. The combination of a lack of playing time and his parents going through a “bad divorce” influenced him to transfer to a school closer to home. 

Having committed to North Carolina once as a high school first-year, he chose to be a Tar Heel again. Although transfers typically have to sit out for a year at their new school, the NCAA granted UNC's waiver requesting Williams be made eligible immediately due to his special circumstances. 

UNC was coming off a 2017 season in which it finished 3-9. The team had viable options at running back in then-first-year Michael Carter and then-junior Jordon Brown, but Williams was still considered to be a strong candidate for the starting role.

The Tar Heel running backs didn’t know what to expect when Williams arrived. Many had heard of Williams, but none knew him personally. 

“I knew Antonio, but he didn’t know me,” then-incoming first-year running back Javonte Williams said. 

Javonte had admired Antonio's game for a while. In high school, Javonte — also a North Carolina native — was motivated by seeing the recruiting attention Antonio garnered. But he admits he thought Antonio would come to Chapel Hill with an arrogant mindset. 

It ended up being quite the opposite. 

“He just put his head down and worked,” Javonte said. “A leader from the jump. Just trying to get better, watching film, things like that. Coaching up the younger guys. Things you wouldn’t think a transfer would do.” 

Antonio made himself at home, bonding with the running back room almost immediately. His teammates embraced him from the start, too.

Finishing the 2018 season second on the team with 504 rushing yards and five touchdowns, Williams’ first year as a Tar Heel was a success. But all the while, Carter noticed Williams was hard on himself, almost to a fault.

“When he first got here, he was so competitive,” Carter said. “It was really eating at him. Stuff would eat at him if something went wrong.”

Somewhere along the way, though, he learned to put less pressure on himself, to not let what happens on the field affect his mental health. Now, as the Tar Heels' third-leading rusher, Williams has continued to be the leader his teammates knew he was from the beginning.

This season, Carter has led the UNC running backs with 919 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Javonte Williams has emerged as a surprise in the offense, totaling 848 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. Both were named honorable mention All-ACC selections Tuesday. 

Antonio Williams, with 306 rushing yards and one touchdown on the year, hasn’t been able to take that same step forward. But he says he's okay with that.

“The biggest thing with me is just stay positive,” Williams said. “Stay positive and keep guys motivated. It’s not about me. It’s never been about me. Carolina football has been here way before Antonio Williams was born — it’s gonna be here way after I’m dead. 

“So, the biggest thing for me is just making sure that I’m contributing to this team any way I can.”

Head coach Mack Brown has taken notice of Williams' efforts behind the scenes.

Earlier this season, the Hall of Famer said if he could give team MVP to one player, it'd be Williams — and that if a pro career doesn't pan out, he’d hire Williams to his staff immediately.

Williams can’t help but smile when reminded of Brown’s remarks. 

“I plan on playing as long as I can,” Williams said. “... But as soon as I hang ‘em up, trust me, Coach Brown will get a call.”

For now, though, the senior is content. It’s taken a while for him to get here — to Chapel Hill, to this state of mind. He’s living in the moment, and seemingly enjoying every minute of it.

“I’m just grateful to be a Tar Heel,” he said, “finish as a Tar Heel and try to leave a legacy here.”

@pupadhyaya_

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com