Isaiah Williams

#1 · WR · Illinois5′10″ · 185 lb · Saint Louis, MO · Trinity Catholic

via fightingillini.com ↗

Isaiah Williams: WR · Illinois · #1.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Antonio WilliamsClemson · 2022 · 78% season match
Easton MesserWestern Kentucky · 2023 · 78% season match
Nikko RemigioFresno State · 2022 · 73% season match
Will PaulingWisconsin · 2023 · 72% season match
Robert LewisGeorgia State · 2023 · 71% season match

Isaiah Williams

WR · Illinois · Jr · #1

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Played for three head coaches at Illinois: Lovie Smith, Rod Smith and Bret Bielema. Another came in 2023: All-Big Ten. A game that shows it: 200 receiving yards and 9 receptions against Indiana — Week 11, 2023.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Illinois in the news

Oregon fires OC MehringerLancasterOnline Oct 25
Bret Bielema's father passes awayYahoo Sports Oct 25
Jalen Lott, Messiah Hampton out vs IllinoisDucks Wire Oct 24
Oregon WR Evan Stewart arrested for DUIOct 19

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2023	Illinois	82	1,055	12.9	5	67
2022	Illinois	81	709	8.8	5	63
2021	Illinois	47	525	11.2	4	52
2020	Illinois	--	--	--	--	--
2019	Illinois	3	9	3.0	0	4
Career		213	2,298	10.8	14	67

Season	Team
2023	Illinois	12	38	127
2022	Illinois	7	5	120
2021	Illinois	12	61	--
2020	Illinois	63	389	--
2019	Illinois	9	16	--
Career		103	509	247

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 30-28vs Toledo	5	51	10.2	0	20
Wk 2	L 23-34@ Kansas	6	99	16.5	0	29
Wk 3	L 13-30vs No. 7 Penn State	5	63	12.6	0	32
Wk 4	W 23-17vs Florida Atlantic	8	120	15.0	0	45
Wk 5	L 19-44@ Purdue	6	113	18.8	0	49
Wk 6	L 7-20vs Nebraska	8	57	7.1	0	21
Wk 7	W 27-24@ Maryland	4	43	10.8	1	18
Wk 8	L 21-25vs Wisconsin	4	16	4.0	0	11
Wk 10	W 27-26@ Minnesota	13	131	10.1	2	46	2 TD catches
Wk 11	W 48-45vs Indiana	9	200	22.2	2	67	Season-high 200 yds
Wk 12	L 13-15@ Iowa	8	105	13.1	0	32
Wk 13	L 43-45vs Northwestern	6	57	9.5	0	19
Total		82	1055	12.9	5	67

Signature game

Week 10 · 2023

W 27-26

at Minnesota

13 rec · 131 yds · 2 TD

A close one, won by 1 on the road.

With L. Altmyer — 212 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 53.4 · K. Feagin — 89 rush yds (22 car) · 3 rec · 59 yds · 1 TD

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 4 · Florida Atlantic · 3rd and 13 · Q3 · EPA +4.64Luke Altmyer pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 45 yds to the FAU 37 for a Florida Atlantic Penalty, Face Mask (15 yards) (Romain Mungin) to the FAU 22 for a
Week 11 · Indiana · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.76John Paddock pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 67 yds to the IU 8 for a
Week 10 · Minnesota · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.54John Paddock pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 46 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
Week 12 · Iowa · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.39John Paddock pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 32 yds to the IOWA 34 for a
Week 5 · Purdue · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.33Luke Altmyer pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 49 yds to the PUR 7 for a
Week 11 · Indiana · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.29Paddock to Williams: a 42-yard touchdown pass.

4 more plays

Week 10 · Minnesota · 3rd and 8 · Q1 · EPA +2.97Luke Altmyer pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 9 yds for a TD (Caleb Griffin KICK)
Week 7 · Maryland · 3rd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +2.88Luke Altmyer pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 15 yds for a TD (Caleb Griffin KICK)
Week 13 · Northwestern · 3rd and 4 · Q4 · EPA +2.86Williams to Bryant: a 14-yard pass.
Week 3 · Penn State · 3rd and 9 · Q1 · EPA +2.55Luke Altmyer pass complete to Isaiah Williams for 13 yds to the PSU 32 for a Penn State Penalty, Defensive Offside (Jaylen Reed) declined for a

Teams and coaches

2019Illinois6-7HC: Lovie Smith · Run-leaning

2020Illinois2-6HC: Lovie Smith · Run-heavy

2021Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning

2022Illinois8-5HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning

2023Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 81 (#37 of 497). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2023 season

81All-Conference level #37 of 497 · 2023?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2023 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (96th percentile). Strength: rec yards (96th percentile). Concern: catch rate (27th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#264 / 639 · 59th pct

15.0%

Yards / catch#280 / 639 · 56th pct

12.7

EPA / target#431 / 639 · 33rd pct

0.59

TD rate#434 / 639 · 32nd pct

3.7%

Catch rate#466 / 639 · 27th pct

74.8%

Box-score rates (8)

Receptions#22 / 566 · 96th pct

Rec yards#25 / 566 · 96th pct

1055

Rush yards#52 / 294 · 82nd pct

Long catch#118 / 566 · 79th pct

Rec TDs#109 / 566 · 78th pct

Yards / catch#286 / 566 · 49th pct

12.9

Rush TDs#54 / 294 · 41st pct

Fumbles lost#224 / 227 · 1st pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

28th → 33rd percentile

Explosive rate

16th → 59th percentile

Catch rate

66th → 27th percentile

TD rate

46th → 32nd percentile

Yards / catch

21st → 56th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2023. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	6.4	80.6	11.5	0.3
Road5g	7.4	98.2	13.9	0.6

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	6.0	78.0	13.0	0.1
Weeks 8+5g	8.0	102	11.8	0.8

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2023 season

Head Coach

Bret Bielema

Pass share

51.4%

413 pass / 390 run

Plays / game

66.9

12 games

Team sack rate

8.8%

457 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

81 · #37 of 497 WRs · 2023

Former four-star. Now #37 at the position.

Isaiah Williams

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Illinois in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Five seasons at Illinois

2019 4 games

2023 12 games