Wide Receiver E.J. Williams Jr. No Longer With Indiana Football Program
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. is no longer with the Indiana football program, a source confirmed Monday to Hoosiers On SI.
Williams appeared in three games for Indiana this season against Charlotte, Northwestern and Nebraska. He made two receptions for 49 yards.
Williams missed part of spring and fall practices with injuries, and he was listed out on the availability report for Indiana's games against Florida International and Western Illinois.
Williams posted a statement Tuesday morning on X about why he is no longer with the program.
"I'm not on the team anymore because I opted to get surgery to have a better opportunity to compete at playing time, be 100% healthy, and help contribute to a great football team next year. I made this decision because the team was perfectly fine without me in the game and I also want to have a chance at being able to continue my career at the professional level. While making this decision, my coach saw it as quitting on the team, so if I was to redshirt I wouldn't be able to come back to the program next season. I completely understand and respected his decision as he respected mine. It's no hard feelings or bad blood. I appreciate the entire staff here at IU for everything while I was a part of the program and wish my teammates the best as they continue to compete and dominate this season," Williams' post read.
The 6-foot-4 wide receiver joined Indiana under former head coach Tom Allen prior to the 2023 season as a transfer from Clemson. In his first year with the Hoosiers, he appeared in eight games and made 23 receptions for 281 yards.
Williams spent three seasons on Clemson's roster under coach Dabo Swinney. His most productive season came as a true freshman in 2020, when he caught 24 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns across 12 games.
Injuries limited Williams during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, as he totaled 16 receptions for 136 yards over that two-year stretch.
The NCAA allows football student-athletes to compete in up to four games and still maintain their redshirt eligibility. Williams joins DJ Warnell, Donaven McCulley, Nahji Logan, Joshua Rudolph, Tyrik McDaniel, Ebon Person, Neil Campbell and Aaron Stewart as players that have left the Indiana program since fall camp.
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