Even after he learned he had fractured his neck, Mike Williams was still considering leaving college early and heading to the NFL.
That had been the plan for the Clemson wide receiver, anyway. Ball out in 2015, become an All-America and national champion, leave the Tigers after three years and be a first-round pick in the draft. For a while, nothing—not even a broken neck—could derail those plans.
Williams sat down with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and weighed the pros and cons. If he left, did he have enough good film, and would teams be comfortable taking a guy with that kind of injury so high in the draft?