A former Auburn linebacker is set to lead his first defense at the Power Five level.
[autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag], who played for Tommy Tuberville from 2002-05, was officially introduced as the next defensive coordinator at Arkansas. Williams makes the move to the SEC following a two-year stint at UCF, serving as defensive coordinator under former Auburn head coach [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag].
When scouting his next defensive coordinator, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman says that he found exactly what he was looking for in Williams.
“I didn’t interview anybody that I didn’t feel like was a good coach, from watching film on their product that they’re putting out there,” Pittman said of his hiring process. “When I got in front of (Williams), I can remember calling (Arkansas athletics director) Hunter Yurachek and saying ‘I found him.’ There was no doubt in my mind.”
Like many of their SEC counterparts, Arkansas hopes to play tough, physical football in order to compete for conference championships. Williams ensures Arkansas fans that his defense will bring that level of intensity every game day.
“We’re going to play intimidating defense,” Williams said Monday. “When you watch us, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to play physical. We’re going to have that mental and physical toughness that you need to play. We’re going to get our tails to the ball, and it’s going to be sound.”
Williams took on his first defensive coordinator role in 2021 at UCF. In two seasons, the Knights allowed 24 points and 369 yards per game. After spending three seasons at Auburn as a graduate assistant from 2009-11, Williams coached linebackers at Northern Iowa during the 2012 season. After spending one season at Creekside High School in metro Atlanta, he returned to the Plains from 2014-20, working as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach during that seven-year span.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]