Georgia announces hire of Donte Williams as DBs coach
It’s official, Georgia has filled its defensive back coach vacancy with Donte Williams from USC. The school tweeted out the official announcement Saturday evening, a couple of hours after DawgsHQ broke the news that he was expected to be hired by the Bulldogs.
Williams has spend the past four seasons at USC as an ace recruiter for the Trojans. He was retained during the head coach transition from Clay Helton to Lincoln Riley and served as the interim head coach in 2021 when the former was fired.
The past two seasons have seen Williams serve as the defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator for the Trojans. He is also considered as an ace recruiter. He posted a thoughtful goodbye to the Trojans earlier on Saturday.
“I would like to thank coach (Clay) Helton, coach (Lincoln) Riley, and all the amazing coaches I was able to work with and learn from these past four years at USC,” Williams wrote. “I am also thankful for Mike Bohn, Brandon Sosna, President (Carol) Folt, and the administration who were welcoming and extremely easy to work with throughout my time here. I am grateful for all of you.
“Thank you to the Fans, Donors, Rick Caruso, and the incredible alumni that looked after me and my family. Most importantly, thank you to the players for the memories and allowing me to coach you.
“When one Chapter closes another one Begins. (peace emoji)”
Williams was in the PAC12 for two years prior to his time at USC. He coached defensive backs at Oregon in 2018 and 2019. He cut his teeth at the JUCO level, coaching at Los Angeles Harbor, El Camino, and Mt. San Antonio in 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively. He then spent three years in an off-field capacity with one of those at Nevada in 2010 and two at Washington as a graduate assistant in 2011 and 2012.
A three-year run at San Jose State followed the stint in Seattle. He got his first Power Five gig at Arizona in 2016 and spent the 2017 season at Nebraska. Williams is known as an ace recruiter, landing a half dozen five-star prospects in his career at four different positions.
