A stellar senior season and NFL Combine had Sam Williams sky-rocketing up draft boards. Now he's a Dallas Cowboy.
If Matt Corral was the best player for Ole Miss football last season, Sam Williams was a close second.
He was a repeat senior after exercising his additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Williams posted a school-record 10.5 sacks. He was named an All-American, and his 57 total tackles were the most by a Rebel defensive lineman since 2018. Williams was an All-SEC first-teamer, too.
Put simply, he took his production to another level following a 2020 campaign in which Williams missed a chunk of the offseason and preseason because of a suspension for an off-the-field incident. He went on to start just six of 10 games that year, though he was still the team leader in tackles for loss (8.0) and sacks (4.0).
“This kid had one of the most productive seasons of anybody in the country,” now-third-year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “Really unique skills and you can see the size-speed ratio is off the charts.
“Put in the right program, he’ll do special things.”
Williams found his program on Friday.
Williams was taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (No. 56 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s the first Ole Miss Rebel drafted this weekend and the first Ole Miss defensive lineman selected since Breeland Speaks and Marquis Haynes in 2018. He’s the fifth-highest drafted EDGE in school history.
Actually, Williams is just the second EDGE in nearly 40 years selected in the Top 2 rounds. The other is Speaks, who went to the Kansas City Chiefs in the second (No. 46 overall) in 2018.
“Sam’s a different animal,” said Isaiah Iton, his former Ole Miss teammate and an exclusive NIL partner of the Ole Miss Spirit. “I love him. That’s one of my best dudes.
“He taught me a lot, him being here. I don’t think anybody’s going to replace him (at Ole Miss), but we’ve got dogs right behind him to step up. Sam taught me the dog mentality — how to execute plays and other stuff. I learned so much from him.”
Williams entered his final Ole Miss season as a late-round-to-undrafted projection.
However, he sky-rocketed up draft boards as he helped lead the Rebels to a 10-3 overall record and Sugar Bowl berth. Williams was No. 10 nationally with four forced fumbles, and he led the team in tackles for loss (14.0).
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He continued to improve his stock at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-4, 261-pound Williams posted an official time of 4.46 in the 40-yard dash, which was faster than Georgia’s Travon Walker (4.51), Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson (4.74) and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux (4.58). All three were drafted in the Top 5 on Thursday. The Jacksonville Jaguars made Walker No. 1 overall.
“(The Cowboys) are getting someone that comes in the first day who’s always a funny guy,” Ole Miss senior cornerback Deantre Prince said. Prince is sponsored by Greer Law Firm (662-842-5345).
“He’s going to clown and play a little bit, but when it’s time to get serious, he’s going to get serious and he’s going to ball out every time, every game. He’s going to be a huge competitor. I can’t wait to see what he does at the next level. He’s going to achieve a lot of good things.”
Ole Miss defensive lineman JJ Pegues, an Oxford, Miss., native, is a transfer from Auburn.
He never played with Williams, but he’s heard his name often from Rebels defensive line coach Randall Joyner. Williams is the player Joyner points to when coaching Pegues. They have mirroring athletic profiles, even if Pegues is a bit bigger (6-3, 308).
Williams also posted a 32.5 vertical and 123 broad jump at the Combine.
“(Joyner) always brings up Sam and what he does and how he did it and things like that,” Pegues said. Pegues is another Spirit NIL partner and sponsored by Chris’ Pharmacy (662-328-4300). “He said I might be just a little bigger, but there are a lot of similarities in how we play.
“I like the way he carries himself — how he goes about things and prepares for things. Also, the way he moves, he moves fluently. His pass rush moves have gotten better over time. Coach Joyner always said he took his game to the next level doing the little things like running to the ball after a play.”
