INDIANAPOLIS -- Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams said he played the 2024 season at "less than 60%" after suffering a Grade 2 left ankle sprain in the season opener, revealing what he called the "full story" of the injury on Wednesday.
Williams, projected as a possible top-five NFL draft pick entering last season, relayed that he won't work out this week at the NFL scouting combine as a result of the injury, preferring to wait until Georgia's pro day.
"I was injured the whole year, never healthy," Williams said. "I was messed up pretty bad. It was extremely frustrating [with people] not knowing the full story.
"I decided to take the first two to three weeks [after the season] to rest my ankle and try to get it back under me. So that delayed my training, I got a late jump, and that's why I'm going pro day instead of combine."
Williams suffered the injury on a low block by Clemson running back Phil Mafah midway through the third quarter of Georgia's 34-3 victory on Aug. 31. He said Wednesday that he didn't practice until mid-October, and had re-aggravated the injury multiple times over the season while appearing in 12 games -- totaling 24 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5 run stops, 5 sacks, 21 pressures and 2 forced fumbles.
In meeting with NFL teams at the combine, Williams said his ankle has been a notable part of interviews.
"Basically just go into the depth of my injury and let them make up their mind on it," he said, before sharing what he learned about himself over the course of the 2024 season.
"I have a different type of grit about myself that I can push through pain. No matter how I'm feeling, I can still get it done. The teams are loving that I did. They said most guys, in the position I was in, would have sat down."
Of how he would describe the current status of his ankle, he added: "This is the healthiest I've been all year."
