CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- North Carolina running back Antonio Williams, who transferred in from Ohio State earlier this year, has been declared eligible by the NCAA for the 2018 season, sources close to the situation confirmed to Inside Carolina on Friday.

The 5-11, 210-pound junior from New London, N.C. spent two seasons at Ohio State and has two years of eligibility remaining. UNC applied to the NCAA for a waiver to bypass the transfer rule that would have required him to sit out a season.

"We were extremely pleased to learn that Antonio will be immediately eligible to play this fall," head coach Larry Fedora said in a statement released later on Friday. "He has already made a great impression on his teammates and coaches, and I think he will be able to make an impact on the field for us this season. I appreciate the hard work of our compliance staff to get the right thing done for Antonio."

This past season at Ohio State, Williams had 57 rushes for 290 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in 12 games played.

The addition of Williams to the running back corps makes it one of the deepest units on the team. Williams joins junior Jordon Brown (613 rushing yards, 237 receiving yards, four touchdowns in '17), sophomore Michael Carter (558 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns in '17), and three freshmen in Antwuan Branch (redshirted in '17), Javonte Williams, and Devon Lawrence.

Williams was one of the nation's top-ranked running backs out of high school after amassing 7,999 rushing yards during his career at North Stanly High School. He committed to UNC in Sept. 2013 before withdrawing his commitment the following year and ultimately enrolling at Ohio State.

"I played a good amount last season (at Ohio State), but [I felt] I could do more somewhere else," Williams told Inside Carolina when he made his transfer decision. "And, I told Coach [Urban] Meyer at the beginning of winter if I couldn't beat out one of the guys for the job or make it a three-back rotation, I'd possibly look elsewhere to go.

"That's all I want to do; I just want to contribute more than I did at Ohio State. I definitely feel like I can do that at Carolina. I don't think people understand how excited I am. I've been involved with UNC since my eighth grade year. So to come back to that staff -- Coach [Larry] Fedora, Coach 'Kap' [Chris Kapilovic]-- and I've known Coach [Robert] Gillespie for a long time, since he was at Tennessee. So, I'm excited, man. I'm excited to come back and represent my state [and] represent UNC.

"My goal is to help take us back to the ACC Championship. I was fortunate enough to go to a Big Ten Championship at Ohio State and win a ring. So, my goal is to bring an ACC Championship to North Carolina."

North Carolina's players report to training camp on Aug. 2 and the team holds its first practice on Aug. 3. The 2018 season opener is Sept. 1 at Cal.