Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 18 - Wide receiver C.J. Williams

Wisconsin's 2023 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Luke Fickell's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.

CJ Williams' transfer to Wisconsin likely marked the peak of excitement the program built this offseason. The former USC wide out committed to UW in the second week of January and was the 12th transfer to join the Badgers at the time.

“I’m not saying that USC wasn’t the right spot for me if I would’ve waited my turn, sat there, whatever, but I think this is the right spot for me,” Williams said when speaking to reporters in the spring.

“I think the biggest thing for me is I wanted to find somewhere where they believed in me as much as I believe in myself, as much as my parents believe in me.”

As a prospect, Williams was a four-star recruit and the No. 47 player in the country coming out of powerhouse Mater Dei in California. The former top 10 receiver in the class of 2022 is the highest-rated wide out recruit the Badgers have ever signed. Out of high school, Williams committed to USC over offers from Notre Dame, Texas, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, among others.

Williams sprinkled in a number of splash plays early in the spring before he cemented a spot with the first-team offense for the final two weeks of camp. What stood out in his first set of practices was a knack for making big plays. One of the highlights of the spring came when Tanner Mordecai lofted a roughly 35-yard throw to Williams, who came down with the ball with his right hand before securing it for what would have been a touchdown with little space between the cornerback and the sideline. Wide receivers coach Mike Brown called that play the most impressive catch of the spring.

That highlight topped what was a solid list of plays made by the 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver. His breakout performance came in the fourth practice of the spring where Williams made five catches that would have gone for 20-plus yards. One of the plays came when he created enough separation from cornerback Avyonne Jones to dive for the football and come down with an outstanding catch.

"He's made plays down the field, he's made plays in contested catch situations, which has been really good to see, and he doesn't shy away from contact, which is good to see, especially from a young player," Brown said of Williams' play during the spring. "He's done a lot of things well. He's working hard, he's a smart kid, so really excited about where he's at."

Heading into his second season, Williams will attempt to make a leap after he saw just 58 snaps of offense this past season at USC. In nine games, Williams has four catches for 34 yards.

Finding his footing on the first unit with senior Chimere Dike and slot Will Pauling, Williams is expected to open fall camp with the top group. With his talent showing up already during spring camp, the sophomore receiver should be a major factor in what will be a new look passing attack under offensive coordinator Phil Longo.

“I have a standard that I hold myself to, and it’s beyond stars or anything they can write,” Williams said. “As much as I wanna make everybody proud, I wanna make myself proud.”

Wisconsin is suddenly deep at the position after it added four receivers through the transfer portal. Williams, Pauling, Quincy Burroughs and redshirt freshman Chris Brooks Jr. each emerged this spring and joined a returning trio of Dike, Keontez Lewis and Skyler Bell. At a minimum, the Badgers should have six game-ready receivers this fall.

"It’s been exciting," Brown said in the spring. "There is a lot of competition and like I said, we want to have six guys that we feel really, really good about and there’s really good competition for those six spots right now. I think we’re in a good spot. We’ve come a long way and I think we’ve still got a ways to go."

With a few more months together, the new receivers should have a better rapport with Mordecai, Braedyn Locke, Nick Evers and Myles Burkett come fall camp. The August practices will also reveal more about the rotation at the position, especially with Bryson Green in the mix after being limited to individual drills during camp.

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