Charlotte 49ers’ Antone Williams ready to face his former teammates at Duke
Charlotte safety Antone Williams knows all the feelings will be there when he walks into Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night for the 49ers’ nonconference game against Duke.
And he’ll know how to handle them.
“I’ll have to separate those emotions,” said Williams, a grad transfer who played three seasons at Duke before coming to Charlotte. “I know I’m treating this like any other week, just preparing for a ball game. But, yeah, I’m going to be amped, but I’m not going to attach any negative energy to it.
“But it’ll be the first time I’ve ever walked in the back door there instead of the front door.”
Williams has emerged as a key player at Charlotte (2-2), starting all four games for the 49ers as they head into their game against Duke (1-5). Playing safety and some nickel, he’s got 14 tackles and broken up three passes. But he’s more than his statistics.
“I remember the first Zoom call we had as a team,” 49ers coach Will Healy said. “We were talking about social injustice and ’Tone spoke up and you (knew) this guy’s special. When he speaks, people listen. He gets it. Having been here for only four months, he’s been a great leader.”
Williams teams up with senior Ben DeLuca at the back of Charlotte’s defense. DeLuca, who is six tackles short of breaking Charlotte’s career record, said he’s has benefited from Williams’ presence on the field.
“(Williams) is definitely versatile,” DeLuca said. “He can really play all five positions in the back end. He’s a smart guy. But there’s comfort in knowing that he’s got that versatility.”
One thing Williams isn’t doing is giving his new teammates any inside scoop on his former Blue Devils teammates.
“I actually really haven’t asked him,” said DeLuca. “I really don’t want to put him in a bind because that’s his alma mater and things of that nature. If we feel like our preparation is going to be good enough, we don’t need anything other than what we’re going to see on film. You know that was his prior institution, so we’re not going to make it more than it is.”
Williams was a three-star recruit coming out of Atlanta’s Woodward Academy, choosing Duke over several other Power 5 programs. Although Williams wasn’t a starter on defense during his time at Duke, he was a key member of the Blue Devils’ special teams and was in the rotation in the defensive backfield during the 2018 and ’19 seasons. Williams also ran track briefly at Duke, although he says he did that mostly to stay in shape for football (he’s got the school record at Woodward in the 110 hurdles).
“Those are the best memories,” Williams said of his time at Duke. “Of course, all the coaches that helped mold me. And the friends I made. I call them friends, but in reality they’re my brothers. There were hard days in camps and in spring practices. But we won some great games. Those are memories I’ll always hang on to.
“I grew into a man there. It got me (to Charlotte) and helped propel me to another level. I’m going to new heights now, it’s a new journey. I’m meeting new people and doing special things. That’s the amazing thing about life.”
Williams graduated from Duke with degrees in African American Studies and Sociology and is now enrolled in UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Management program. He says he’s considering taking an extra year of eligibility (granted recently by the NCAA for all fall athletes due to the coronavirus), but won’t decide until this season is over.
“Something I want to do is bring energy and leadership every day,” Williams said. “It’s about the grind and going about the process the right way. I want the young guys to look at ’Tone and say, ‘That’s how the process works and you’ve got to grind.’ No matter where I went, I might not have been the star guy or the best guy. But what kept me going was the process. I do everything every day 100%.”
Charlotte at Duke
When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham.
Watch: ACC regional sports networks.