After a spring camp in which position coach Tony Alford and teammates in the group raved about his improvement among the standouts for Ohio State, junior running back Antonio Williams announced Monday on Twitter his transfer to North Carolina at the end of the semester.
New Chapter! Go Heels! #GDTBATH pic.twitter.com/K60b6dXa7R
— Antonio Williams (@A_B_Williams26) April 23, 2018
The 5-11, 210-pound Williams entered OSU as a four-star recruit from New London (N.C.) North Stanly. Rated by the 247Sports composite in the class of 2016 as the No. 169 overall player, No. 7 running back and No. 5 in North Carolina, Williams pledged to the Buckeyes in 2015 after originally committing to the Tar Heels in 2013 and Wisconsin in 2014.
After he signed and arrived to Ohio State in 2016 as an early enrollee for the spring, Williams played two games as a true freshman with six carries for 28 yards. As a sophomore in 2017, behind J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, Williams took 57 totes for 290 yards and three touchdowns over 12 games. He added five catches for 25 yards.
Behind a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the tailback tandem of J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, Williams was in a logjam at a loaded position. While a role in the offense was a possibility after his strong spring, Williams cited “family” and “particular opportunities” in ultimately deciding on his homecoming of sorts at UNC.
With the departure of Williams, OSU is down to 86 scholarship players. At running back for Ohio State, beyond Dobbins and Weber, two freshmen round out the position group in early enrollee Master Teague and incoming signee Brian Snead.
