Indiana wide receiver E.J. Williams started the 2024 season with the expectation that he would be a major part of an offense under a new staff with the Hoosiers. The season ended for him after just two catches and four games played before Williams entered the transfer portal, something he really didn’t want to do. He found his way back to the Hoosiers for 2025.
“I didn't really want to go into the portal to start off with, but it was like a team rule that coach Cignetti has that guys that redshirt can't be a part of the team, so I understood that. I wanted to do what was best for me, so I decided to go into the portal.” Williams said after the Hoosiers seventh spring practice.
In an era when players jump in the portal and burn the bridges that could eventually lead them back to the team, Williams and Cignetti kept things open.
“I have always liked him personally. I like his work habits, and I like his talent. And, he has a burning desire to be good, and we just have to keep him on the field.” Cignetti said.
Williams has a long history of injuries, some freak injuries like a finger issue in 2023 and some other injuries that hopefully can be prevented in the future. When Williams is on the field he is a dangerous receiving threat. He started slow with IU in 2023 after transferring from Clemson, but showed what he could do in the season's final four games when he made 20 catches for 247 yards. Last season, Williams only made two catches, but one of them was an impressive grab against Northwestern. While frustrated with the injuries, Williams said it does not change his mindset.
“The mindset never changes for me” Williams said, “when I'm available on the field, I always play fast, go 100%, be the person that I know it could be. I'm always in a good head space with things like that. So, because it's always something I battled my whole career, really, up until like, my sophomore year at Clemson. So I just really just try to focus in on having a clear head.”
The journey back to IU was not always clear or rewarding. Williams had to watch IU win 11 games from the couch with his family as he received calls from other teams.
“I happened to be on a visit at one school and coach Cig reached out to me and we had a good talk, and I decided I was going to come back.” Williams explained.
During that time away from the team Williams had mixed emotions about what he was seeing in Bloomington.
“Of course, I want to be part of something special like that here at IU, knowing our past and our record and stuff the year before. It was a good feeling seeing my guys like Coop [Omar Cooper Jr.], Elijah [Sarratt], Myles Price, Miles Cross, Ke'Shawn [Williams] make the plays I knew they had made in practice that I was seeing every. All in all, I was happy to see them have that success that I know they had put the work in to have.” Williams said about the Hoosiers trip to the College Football Playoff.
Williams has been healthy so far this spring, which he was not last season. He has been working with the first team offense and is being used all over the field. He knows what he has to do to have a successful final season of college football.
“The focal point for me is to stay healthy, stay in the training room and be able to prehab. Then, just hone in on learning concepts and not just one position, learning the defense so you can think clearly while you are out there running routes, and just make everything polished at the top of routes and releases. And hone in on blocking in the run game, too.” Williams said.
For IU, a healthy Williams makes a talented receiver room even deeper and gives them a game changer at wide receiver who is really tough to cover.
