EJ Williams looks to make up for lost time when Indiana football needs him most: ‘Big expectations for EJ these next few weeks’

EJ Williams was one of the bigger prospects that the Indiana football program added through the transfer portal this offseason. But, the season hasn’t gone as planned for the dynamic wide receiver.

Williams — a former high-end four-star recruit — went down with a hand injury just midway into the first half in game two this season. The result? Being on the sidelines for the next five weeks.

Now, in the final month of the season, Williams is looking to cram a full year’s production into just three more games. But, this could be exactly what he came to Indiana for — to showcase his ability as a go-to receiver.

On Monday, it was announced that Indiana football wideout Cam Camper would miss the rest of the season with a procedure on his knee. It was the same knee that Camper injured last year.

Enter Williams — who played his first significant role for Indiana in last week’s 20-14 win over Wisconsin.

“There’s no question. Like you said, the timing is huge, getting him back, because Cam really hasn’t played a lot lately. So EJ’s length and speed, he’s our fastest and longest receiver combination that we have,” Indiana football head coach Tom Allen said this week. “Really excited for him. Made some big plays for us (on Saturday). He’s a big enough guy to break tackles and can stretch the field.”

Williams returned to full form last week, grabbing four receptions for 48 yards, including a big 21-yarder on a key third down early in the game. Indiana would capitalize just two plays later on an eight-yard touchdown run.

The Clemson transfer isn’t new to making big plays. He flashed that ability as a freshman in 2020, totaling 24 catches for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He had 80 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame and then had five receptions for 41 yards against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinals.

At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Williams brings tremendous size, in addition to his quickness, to an Indiana football offense that has lacked explosive plays from its wideouts until recently. Adding Williams in time for the last push towards a bowl game is exactly what makes this coaching staff even more confident in the product that will hit the field this weekend.

“The thing about E.J. is that you can see that because of the time that he missed, his body is rested and he’s ready to go,” Indiana football offensive coordinator Rod Carey said this week. “He’s playing at a good speed right now and his confidence is growing. You can tell every time his confidence is growing every time he’s out there. He’s growing with the offense and the speed of the game. It’s really good to have E.J (back).”

The confidence is growing, yes, but so is his chemistry with quarterback Brendan Sorsby and Sorsby’s confidence in him.

Last week, three of Williams’ four receptions resulted in a first down — two of them went for more than 12 yards. Two of the three first down receptions also came on third down.

“Going to need him to continue to elevate and continue to be a guy on the rise, which we’re seeing right now from him, so really proud of him,” Allen said. ” … EJ is a guy we had high hopes for when we brought him here, and unfortunately had the injury in week one that really set him back, but he just stayed positive, stayed the course, kept training, kept working, was doing all the things he needed to do to get back, and was ready to go when he got back. Now he’s played a couple games, and each week he just gets more and more confident with Brendan and our system that we’re doing here.”

So, while his Indiana career hasn’t gone as he — or anyone — had hoped, there’s still time. And it starts when Indiana needs him most — this week at Illinois.

“Big expectations for EJ in these next few weeks.”

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