GoHeels Exclusive: Antonio Williams Q&A

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

This time last March, Antonio Williams was still at Ohio State, going through his third year of spring football practices with the Buckeyes.

A month later, Williams announced his decision to transfer to North Carolina. And after rushing for 504 yards and five touchdowns last season, he enters this spring as one of the Tar Heels' most vocal leaders and part of a deep running back room.

Williams spoke with reporters after UNC's second spring practice on Tuesday. The following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: You've had three different coaching staffs in three years. What's that been like?

Antonio Williams: "I think it's good. I learned a lot from each staff. I learned a lot up at Ohio State, I learned a lot last year with Coach (Larry) Fedora. I experienced a different season obviously last year, and I'm hoping to experience a similar season to what I experienced up at Ohio State this coming year. So, it's been good. I've taken a lot in from a lot of great coaches. I don't think a lot of guys can say they've played for Urban Meyer, Larry Fedora and Mack Brown. I'm honestly just blessed to be able to say that."

Q: Not to discredit the old staff, but under Mack Brown, does it feel like it did at Ohio State under Urban Meyer, two Hall of Fame coaches?

AW: "Yeah, for sure. I think it comes from Coach Brown being a championship-type coach. He's been there, he knows what it takes and he's bringing that here to Carolina."

Q: You had laser eye surgery during the offseason. What went into that decision and how much have you benefited from it?

AW: "So, it wasn't actually corrective surgery. I had some holes in my retinas, both of my retinas, and they had to go in and repair them with a laser. It was a 25-minute surgery. It felt kind of weird; you could feel the laser in the back of your head. It's a pretty good headache afterward. But it turned out good. Every now and then, I'd get floaters and I'd see random little black things floating in the air, and they weren't actually there. So that just kind of closed those up and helped me out seeing-wise."

Q: At the end of the season, Javonte (Williams) had a good couple of games. What have you seen from him this spring to sort of build on that?

AW: "He carried it over. I think that makes our running back room even more deadly. When Javonte is on top of his game, when Jordon (Brown) is on top of his game, when Mike (Michael Carter) is on top of his game and when I'm on top of my game – and then we've got British Brooks. British is a guy who people don't talk about much because he didn't get a lot of time last year, but I think British is on the same level as the other guys in the room. So with Javonte and British and those guys coming along, I honestly think we could be the best running back unit in the country."

Q: How valuable is that continuity that you guys have (in the running back room), not just in terms of having guys back, but the same coach (Robert Gillespie), as well?

AW: "It's big-time. Having us together, keeping everybody together and having Coach G back, that's very big. That's something we wanted as a running back unit, and luckily we got that. I think Coach G is the best running backs coach in the country. And having him back is very, very beneficial for our unit."

Players Mentioned

British Brooks

Michael Carter

Antonio Williams

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