It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for Mike Williams. Since the Chargers selected him seventhoverall Thursday night, the wide receiver caught a plane early Friday morning to head to his new home in Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, Williams is truly living in the moment. He admitted the surreal feeling of being drafted in the NFL still hasn't left since Commissioner Roger Goodell read his name in Philadelphia.
"It's still kind of a dream come true," Williams said. "It's everything I've dreamed of; with my mom last night and the rest of my family, it felt like a dream come true. Just for everybody to come there who helped me get to this moment, my family (and) my friends. Just to celebrate with those guys was fun."
Williams said he was able to get in quality time with his family and friends before coming to the west coast. While he was the second receiver taken in this year's draft, his pre-draft prognostication was pretty spot on.
"(I felt like I could go) anywhere from five to 15…. I felt like there were some teams there who needed receivers. I felt like three receivers could come off the board during that time period."
At 6-4, 218 pounds, Williams' frame and skills helped lead his alma mater of Clemson to the College Football National Championship this past January. He comes from a long line of esteemed Tigers and felt like hearing his name called helped him keep the Clemson wide receiver pedigree going strong.
"Those guys set the platform. Guys like Jacoby Ford, Sammy Watkins, (DeAndre) Hopkins, Martavis Bryant (and) Charone Peake. They set the (standard) so I'm just keeping it going and passing the torch to the younger guys coming in after me. We just wanted to keep the 'Wide Receiver U' thing going and I felt like I did a good job."
During the 2015 season, Williams was sidelined by a serious neck injury. Having made a full recovery in 2016, the injury taught him so much more than he ever imagined.
"I felt like everything happens for a reason. I came back to Clemson and got my degree, (and) came out with a National Championship. The injury just put my game to the next level because it just showed me that I (can't) take anything for granted. The game can be taken from me at any time. I just (used) that injury for a lot of motivation."
Settling into his new digs in LA, Williams is excited to take his game to the next level. While he joins a powerful group of Chargers wideouts, he's most looking forward to catching passes from number 17, ultimately fulfilling his "dream come true" of playing in the NFL.
"He actually texted me last night after the LA Chargers selected me. It was pretty good just to see him text me. He just congratulated me and said he's ready to work. I just hit him back like, 'Let's get it! I need to learn this playbook so we can catch a few balls and have some fun.' …The passion that Philip has for the game, you can just see it on TV every Sunday. Just watching him play, he's going to be a future Hall of Famer. Just for me to catch passes from him is going to be an amazing feeling."
