A former four-star recruit out of Washington, D.C., Tre Williams is hoping to hear his name called during the 2026 NFL Draft. After spending five years with the Clemson Tigers and battling through multiple injuries, Williams transferred to Michigan, where he played his final season.
Quick Facts
- Height: 6-foot-1 7/8
- Weight: 307
- Arm Length: 32 7/8”
- Hand Length: 10”
- Bench: 24
- Draft Day Age: 24
- Career Stats: 57 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 pass deflections
Strengths
- Williams is stout and strong, able to absorb double-teams with ease.
- He plays with a low center of gravity and good pad level.
Weaknesses
- Williams has very limited pass-rushing skills.
- He lacks burst and lateral quickness.
- Williams has a lengthy injury history, including a medical redshirt in 2023 due to shoulder surgery.
Summary
Williams was a four-star recruit out of Washington, D.C. 247Sports had him as the No. 97 overall player in the Class of 2020 and the No. 11 defensive tackle. Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers loaded up on defensive tackles
in this class as they received commitments from No. 1 DT Bryan Bresee, No. 5 DT DeMonte Capehart, and No. 11 Williams. Tre was also the third-ranked player out of D.C. in his class behind only WR Rakim Jarrett (Maryland) and LB M.J. Sherman (Georgia).
As a four-star defensive tackle with the requisite size and strength to play college football, Williams was highly sought after. Williams chose Clemson over other national powers such as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee.
Tre redshirted during the COVID season (2020) but did appear in two games. As a sophomore in 2021, Williams already joined the Clemson rotation along the defensive line. Over 11 games, he made 10 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, and one sack. Not too shabby for a young defensive tackle.
Williams stayed in the rotation in 2022 but did not take the next step into a starting role. Over the course of 12 games, he tallied six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one more sack.
Unfortunately, the injury bug bit in 2023. After playing just five games, Williams underwent shoulder surgery, which caused him to redshirt.
As a graduate student in 2024, Williams returned to health and played in all 14 of Clemson’s games, starting in three of them. He had his best season to date with 14 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two pass deflections, and two sacks. Coincidentally, both sacks came in Clemson’s CFP matchup with Texas.
Following the 2024 season, Williams entered the transfer portal and chose to join the Michigan Wolverines. He remained simply a rotational player for the Wolverines at nose tackle, but had his best year in college. Tre notched 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, and one pass deflection. He played in all 13 games for Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines.
Tre Williams is currently on the outside looking in, according to most mock drafts and draft boards. It would be a bit surprising to see him get drafted, though a late Day 3 pick isn’t out of the question. The combination of his injury history and his lack of explosive pass rush could make teams hesitant to draft him. However, he is still your prototypical, early-down run stuffing defensive tackle. There is always a role for players like that in the NFL.
Fighting for an NFL roster spot is a reasonable expectation for Williams in the Fall.
