Veteran DT Tré Williams was one of Michigan’s biggest transfer portal additions this offseason. Hear what he recently had to say about his journey to Ann Arbor, and why he’s all in on the Wolverines:
During this week’s episode of the In the Trenches podcast with Jon Jansen, new Michigan defensive tackle Tré Williams went in-depth on his journey from Clemson to Ann Arbor while offering some updates on his offseason progress thus far.
With 44 games and more than 700 defensive snaps under his belt, Williams arrives in Ann Arbor not just to fill a gap left by the departures of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, but to add leadership and much-needed experience to a reshaped defensive front.
“On the field, I bring leadership, passion, experience, big-game experience, physicality,” Williams told Jansen. “I try to be almost like, I don’t want to say a tone-setter, but I kinda want to set the example and be the example. I guess a tone-setter.”
That approach extends beyond the field, where Williams has quickly emerged as a unifying presence in the locker room. Known affectionately by his teammates as “Unc,” Williams embraces the nickname, even if it reminds him he’s one of the older guys in the building.
“Yeah, I’m ‘Unc.’ I get called ‘Unc’ a lot around here,” Williams said with a laugh. “I’m still trying to get used to it. It’s a little frustrating sometimes, but it comes with the territory. I’m honored to be called ‘Unc,’ because that means you know something. They don’t call you ‘Unc’ if you don’t know anything.”
That knowledge and perspective have already made a difference for Michigan’s younger linemen.
“A bunch of the guys ask me a bunch of different questions, just about my experiences and stuff like that. And I’m an open book; I tell the guys everything.”
For Williams, the decision to transfer to Michigan for his final year wasn’t a difficult one.
“I don’t think that’s the right question,” he said when asked why he chose the Wolverines. “I think the right question is, why not come to Ann Arbor?
“You guys have everything somebody like me could want — great history of defensive tackles, defensive linemen, great defenses, great tradition with the school and the alumni base. There’s no reason why I wouldn’t have come here.”
Still, for all his enthusiasm, Williams also made it clear he doesn’t want to be seen as a savior or a replacement for the stars Michigan lost to the NFL. His mindset is simple: be Tré Williams.
“I didn’t come here to be anybody else,” he said. “I came here to be Tré Williams. I feel like if I just go out there every day and be the best version of Tré Williams, Michigan fans will be just fine, the Michigan Wolverines will be just fine, everybody will be just fine.”
He didn’t waste any time showing Michigan exactly who they were getting. From the time he got to campus through the end of spring, he did all he could to prove how he goes about going his business and that he’s a hard worker. That work ethic earned him respect in the locker room, but also came with some new challenges.
“After the spring, I had a meeting with my coach, and he was like in order for us to really take it to that next step, I need to be more vocal,” Williams said.
With the season right around the corner and expectations for the defensive line high in Ann Arbor, Williams is ready to take that next step. Not just as a player, but as a vocal leader for a retooled position group.