PHOENIX, Ariz. — As the final seconds ticked off the clock in last year’s loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship Game, Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams just stared at the scoreboard and wondered, “Maybe what if I was out there, we probably would have won.”
But Williams could not be out there. A few weeks earlier, he had just taken the brace off his neck from an injury that went back to the season-opener against Wofford. Williams fractured part of his vertebra after running into a goal post just a few plays into the 2015 season.