Ex-Cox, Clemson DT transfers to Hokies

After three seasons in a backup role for Clemson, Cox High alum Jordan Williams is returning to his home state to finish out his college career at Virginia Tech.

Williams, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive tackle, announced Monday afternoon on his Twitter account he’s transferring to Virginia Tech. He just finished his redshirt junior season at Clemson and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in Blacksburg.

Coming out of Cox considered by most recruiting analysts one of the nation’s top 15 defensive ends in the class of 2017, Williams went on to play in 38 games for Clemson, where he started three times. He posted 55 tackles in his three seasons, including 9.5 for losses and four sacks.

Williams will compete for a starting role at Tech, which is losing starting defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt. DaShawn Crawford recently announced he plans to return next season, and Tech will also have Norell Pollard and Mario Kendricks back at its defensive tackle spots.

Crawford started 10 games in 2019, but he started just three of the seven games in which he played in 2020 while he struggled with a knee injury. Pollard started five times this season and Kendricks started twice.

With the addition of Williams, Tech is set to have more players on its roster from Cox next season than any other high school. Wide receiver Tayvion Robinson and incoming freshman linebacker Isi Etute are also Cox alums.