Football
Williams , Donte
Donte Williams
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach - Defensive Backs
Donte Williams, a veteran of 15 years of coaching defensive backs at multiple power conference schools, was named the defensive backs coach at UGA in December of 2023.
Williams previously served in the same role at Southern California, where he served on the Trojans’ staff from 2020-2023. He was hired onto the staff as the defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach, serving in those roles in 2020. He was promoted to assistant coach in 2021 and also held those same duties. Following the head coaching change in 2021, Williams served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2021 season. He continued to serve on new head coach Lincoln Riley’s staff in 2022 and ’23 as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator.
During the 2022 season, Williams helped lead the program’s defense to a top-five national ranking in interceptions per game. He helped develop Mekhi Blackmon, an All-Pac-12 First Team member in 2022, during which he recorded 66 total tackles, two of which were for a loss of seven yards, 12 pass breakups, three interceptions a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Blackmon was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Southern California won 11 games in. ’22 and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl. In 2023, the Trojans advanced to the Holiday Bowl against Louisville.
Before he arrived at USC, Williams spent the 2018 and ’19 seasons at Oregon as the Ducks’ cornerbacks coach. The Ducks finished 2018 ranked 11th in the nation in interceptions with 17 and 2019 with the second-most of any program in the country with 20. Oregon went to bowl games in those seasons, winning the Redbox Bowl over Michigan State in 2018 and won the Rose Bowl in 2019 against No. 5 Wisconsin. Williams helped recruit Oregon's class of 2020, which ranked seventh in the nation and top in the Pac-12.
Williams was hired to coach the cornerbacks for Arizona in 2016. He then coached cornerbacks, nickelbacks and dimebacks at Nebraska in 2017, also assisting with the program’s pass-defense coordination.
Williams was hired by San Jose State in 2013 as the program’s cornerbacks coach and then was promoted to serve as both the defensive backs coach and the recruiting coordinator for the program, a position which he held for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. During the 2014 campaign, the Spartans only allowed 117.8 passing yards per game and gave up just six passing touchdowns on the season, both of which ranked top in the nation. The following year in 2015, SJSU continued its dominance in passing defense thanks to Williams, holding offenses to an average of 157.8 passing yards per game, the second lowest in the nation. The Spartans would finish the year winning the Cure Bowl, beating Georgia State 27-16. During his tenure, Williams was named a Top 10 National Recruiter by Sports Illustrated in 2015 and as the top recruiter in the Mountain West by 247Sports in 2014.
Williams was hired by current Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to join the staff at Washington as a graduate assistant for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. His responsibilities included assisting with overseeing the cornerbacks and linebackers for the Huskies, who spent time ranked during both seasons and made the Alamo Bowl in 2011 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 2012.
He earned his first spot on staff with an FBS program at Nevada in 2010 as a defensive quality control coach for the Wolfpack. The team went on to make the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, where it beat Boston College, 20-13.
Williams began the first three years of his coaching career at a trio of small colleges as the cornerbacks coach at each stop. He was on staff for three different California schools for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons - at Los Angeles Harbor Community College, El Camino Junior College and Mount San Antonio Junior College, respectively.
Alongside his first stints in coaching, Williams also played two seasons in the Arena Football League 2 - for the Rio Grand Valley Dorados in 2007 and then the Arkansas Twisters in 2008.
Williams played high school football for Culver City High in California and eventually began his collegiate playing career as a defensive back at Pasadena City College in California for the 2002 season. He then played at Syracuse in 2003 before ending his collegiate career at Idaho State in 2004 and 2005, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in the spring of 2006. Williams received All-Big Sky First Team recognitions and was selected as a team captain during both seasons playing for the Bengals.
Williams is married to his wife Jayna and the two have a son named King.
Williams previously served in the same role at Southern California, where he served on the Trojans’ staff from 2020-2023. He was hired onto the staff as the defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach, serving in those roles in 2020. He was promoted to assistant coach in 2021 and also held those same duties. Following the head coaching change in 2021, Williams served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2021 season. He continued to serve on new head coach Lincoln Riley’s staff in 2022 and ’23 as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator.
During the 2022 season, Williams helped lead the program’s defense to a top-five national ranking in interceptions per game. He helped develop Mekhi Blackmon, an All-Pac-12 First Team member in 2022, during which he recorded 66 total tackles, two of which were for a loss of seven yards, 12 pass breakups, three interceptions a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Blackmon was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Southern California won 11 games in. ’22 and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl. In 2023, the Trojans advanced to the Holiday Bowl against Louisville.
Before he arrived at USC, Williams spent the 2018 and ’19 seasons at Oregon as the Ducks’ cornerbacks coach. The Ducks finished 2018 ranked 11th in the nation in interceptions with 17 and 2019 with the second-most of any program in the country with 20. Oregon went to bowl games in those seasons, winning the Redbox Bowl over Michigan State in 2018 and won the Rose Bowl in 2019 against No. 5 Wisconsin. Williams helped recruit Oregon's class of 2020, which ranked seventh in the nation and top in the Pac-12.
Williams was hired to coach the cornerbacks for Arizona in 2016. He then coached cornerbacks, nickelbacks and dimebacks at Nebraska in 2017, also assisting with the program’s pass-defense coordination.
Williams was hired by San Jose State in 2013 as the program’s cornerbacks coach and then was promoted to serve as both the defensive backs coach and the recruiting coordinator for the program, a position which he held for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. During the 2014 campaign, the Spartans only allowed 117.8 passing yards per game and gave up just six passing touchdowns on the season, both of which ranked top in the nation. The following year in 2015, SJSU continued its dominance in passing defense thanks to Williams, holding offenses to an average of 157.8 passing yards per game, the second lowest in the nation. The Spartans would finish the year winning the Cure Bowl, beating Georgia State 27-16. During his tenure, Williams was named a Top 10 National Recruiter by Sports Illustrated in 2015 and as the top recruiter in the Mountain West by 247Sports in 2014.
Williams was hired by current Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to join the staff at Washington as a graduate assistant for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. His responsibilities included assisting with overseeing the cornerbacks and linebackers for the Huskies, who spent time ranked during both seasons and made the Alamo Bowl in 2011 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 2012.
He earned his first spot on staff with an FBS program at Nevada in 2010 as a defensive quality control coach for the Wolfpack. The team went on to make the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, where it beat Boston College, 20-13.
Williams began the first three years of his coaching career at a trio of small colleges as the cornerbacks coach at each stop. He was on staff for three different California schools for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons - at Los Angeles Harbor Community College, El Camino Junior College and Mount San Antonio Junior College, respectively.
Alongside his first stints in coaching, Williams also played two seasons in the Arena Football League 2 - for the Rio Grand Valley Dorados in 2007 and then the Arkansas Twisters in 2008.
Williams played high school football for Culver City High in California and eventually began his collegiate playing career as a defensive back at Pasadena City College in California for the 2002 season. He then played at Syracuse in 2003 before ending his collegiate career at Idaho State in 2004 and 2005, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in the spring of 2006. Williams received All-Big Sky First Team recognitions and was selected as a team captain during both seasons playing for the Bengals.
Williams is married to his wife Jayna and the two have a son named King.
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