Georgia set to hire USC DB coach Donte Williams to same role

Barring a last minute change, UGA is set to hire USC defensive back coach Donte Williams to fill the void left open when Fran Brown took the Head Coach position at Syracuse in early December.

Williams, has spent the last four seasons as the cornerbacks and defensive passing game coordinator for the Trojans.

He is widely regarded as a top recruiter around the country and has strong ties to the West coast as well.

DawgsHQ is told that Donte Williams will be in Athens as early as Monday to begin his coaching career for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Per the USC Website:

“(Donte Williams) coached group of defensive backs who made massive contributions to the Trojan defense throughout the 2022 season. He tutored Mekhi Blackmon, an All-Pac-12 First Team member who recorded 66 tackles (fourth on the team), including 2.0 for loss of 7 yards. He led the team with 12 pass breakups and decorated his stat sheet with 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery and 1 forced fumble. USC played in the Cotton Bowl to conclude the 2022 season. 
 
He was named USC’s cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator in February of 2020.  In December of 2020, he added the title of associate head coach.  Then, on Sept. 13, 2021, he was named USC’s interim head coach after head coach Clay Helton was relieved of his duties.  He had a 3-7 overall record as interim head coach.  Cornerback Chris Steele made All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2021. 
 
In 2020, Steele made All-Pac-12 second team, while cornerback Olaijah Griffin was ranked the Pac-12’s No. 3 cornerback by Pro Football Focus.  USC’s pass defense allowed just 216.3 yards, its fewest since 2013.  Williams was named the nation’s third best recruiter (No. 1 in the Pac-12 for the second consecutive year) by 247Sports.   
 
Williams spent the previous 2 seasons (2018-19) as Oregon’s cornerbacks coach.  The Ducks were second in the nation in interceptions in 2019 (with 20) and 11^th in 2018 (17).  Oregon played in the 2018 Redbox Bowl and then won the 2019 Pac-12 championship and played in the Rose Bowl.  He was named the nation’s seventh best recruiter (No. 1 in the Pac-12) for the class of 2020 by 247Sports. 
 
In 2017, he coached Nebraska’s cornerbacks, nickelbacks and dimebacks as well as helping with the Cornhuskers’ pass defense coordination. 
 
Williams, 40, was the cornerbacks coach at Arizona in 2016. 
 
Prior to that, he spent 3 seasons (2013-15) at San Jose State, coaching the cornerbacks the first season and serving as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator the final 2 seasons.  In 2014, the Spartans’ pass defense (117.8) and passing touchdowns allowed (6) were tops in the nation, improving 85 and 102 spots, respectively, in the national rankings from the previous year.  Then in 2015, as SJSU played in the Cure Bowl, the Spartans were second nationally in pass defense (157.8) and 29^th in passing TDs allowed (16).  He also was named a Top 10 national recruiter by Sports Illustrated in 2015 after being selected as the Mountain West’s best recruiter in 2014 by 247Sports. 
 
He was a graduate assistant at Washington in 2011 and 2012, working with the cornerbacks and linebackers.  The Huskies played in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and 2012 Las Vegas Bowl.  In the summer of 2012, he was a summer coaching intern with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. 
 
He spent 2010 as a quality control coach at Nevada, helping with the linebackers.  The Wolfpack played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl that season. 
 
He began his coaching career as a cornerbacks coach at the junior college level, first at Los Angeles Harbor College in 2007, then El Camino College in 2008 and Mt. San Antonio College in 2009.”