Tag: Bennett Williams

Dolphins Wire UDFA Player Profile: Oregon S Bennett Williams

There seems to be a pipeline from Oregon to South Florida.

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Continuing in the Dolphins Wire undrafted free agent player profile series, one of the rookies brought in for camp competition enters South Florida with familiar faces welcoming him. For a third straight season, general manager Chris Grier has gone to a specific defensive backfield talent well which happens to be located in Eugene, Oregon.

Over the past three years, those NFL draft weekends have seen an Oregon Duck safety added to the flock of Dolphin defenders. In 2021 Jevon Holland was drafted in the second round, and last season Verone McKinley III was called during the post-draft process and signed as an undrafted free agent.

Last month, as the 2023 selection process concluded, Grier and staff hit the phones, and another Pacific Northwest-bound call was placed, this time to safety Bennett Williams.

Playing three seasons at Oregon from 2020-22, Williams transferred from the College of San Mateo after a redshirt year in 2018 and then a very productive 2019, when he was named as a top-30 junior college prospect by multiple publications. Originally, he attended Illinois in 2017 following his prep career, but after one season, transferred to the junior college.

Entering Oregon in 2020 for a shortened season due to the pandemic, Williams played in all seven games and started two of them. Building off some momentum heading into 2021, Williams started the year strong and was nationally recognized in an early-season game against Utah.

He was fantastic with a pair of interceptions and 14 total tackles, earning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week as well as several other weekly accolades. Unfortunately, momentum was soon after halted, and 2021 was shortened for another reason for Williams, as he was injured the following week.

Coming back full-strength and starting all of Oregon’s 2022 games as a senior, Williams was the Ducks’ leading tackler last season with 72. He added a sack, eight passes defensed, two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.

He was named as a coaches Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention, and some scouts slated him as a potential Day 3 selection heading into the draft weekend.

Standing at 6 feet and 205 pounds, Williams makes up for average athleticism and speed with solid size for the position and instinctive ball-hawking coverage skills. He has the versatility to play in the middle of the secondary, single-high safety, as well as in the box as a nickel back. Yet another player with slot covering ability for new Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his staff to work with.

Outside of coverage skills, Williams excels against the run, tracking and closing in on ball carriers very well and is a quality tackler. Not only do his defensive back skills translate into a practice squad player to watch and develop, but he’s also a special teams candidate to make waves in coverage duties.

With a loaded secondary, it’d be nearly impossible to see a path to Miami’s 53-man roster for any UDFA defensive back, however, special teams could always separate prospects from the heap, and an “ace” role for Williams could be something to look for.

He has the intangibles that you want in this type of job, being a fine tackler and having the grit to do the special team’s dirty work. Williams could be another Duck to root for in becoming a part of this Dolphins’ overall roster.

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Oregon safety Bennett Williams signs with Miami Dolphins as non-drafted free agent

Safety Bennett Williams didn’t get drafted, but he was still able to sign with Miami Dolphins as a free agent.

A bevy of non-drafted free agents were able to sign with an NFL team after not being drafted and former Oregon safety Bennett Williams was among those who signed on the dotted line.

He was able to join Miami Dolphins just after the 2023 NFL draft.

Williams had a career season as a senior for the Ducks where he collected 72 tackles, 48 solo, and two interceptions. In his three years in Eugene, he was credited with 107 tackles, 72 solo, five interceptions and one touchdown, which came in 2021.

Oregon was such a good experience for Williams that he convinced his brother, Evan, to transfer into the Ducks program from Fresno State.

Williams will now join former Ducks Verone McKinley III and Jevon Holland as members of the Dolphin’s defense.

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Evan Williams talks brotherly influence, leadership, and fitting in as a Duck

Evan Williams has big shoes to fill as Bennett Williams’ younger brother. He’s excited to take on that challenge with the Ducks.

Over the past few seasons in Eugene, safety Bennett Williams rose prominently as one of the notable fan favorites for the Oregon Ducks. His hard-hitting style was appreciated, and the charismatic comfortability shown in front of a camera during media availabilities was always endearing.

Duck fans might have struck gold twice. A season after Williams graduated and left Eugene, another Williams brother has come to Oregon to take his place. Evan Williams, a senior safety, transferred to the Ducks from Fresno State earlier this offseason, and he’s working to get himself acclimated to the area and entrenched in the program.

We got a chance to talk to Williams for the first time on Saturday afternoon following the Ducks’ fifth spring practice of the year. I can happily report that, like his brother, Evan is similarly charismatic and personable.

He discussed what his decision process was like coming to Oregon, how Bennett helped him along the way, and what it’s been like taking over as a veteran leader on the team, despite being one of the new guys.

Here are some of the best quotes from his interview:

Assessing Bennett Williams’ performance at Oregon Pro Day

Oregon defensive back Bennett Williams had a nice showing at the Oregon Pro Day, which should improve his chances landing with an NFL team this spring.

With 31 of the 32 NFL teams represented with scouts (the Los Angeles Rams had better things to do apparently), Oregon conducted its Pro Day with players who did and did not go to the NFL Combine earlier this month.

Among those who did not go to Indianapolis was defensive back Bennett Williams, who had a nice day in front of the scouts.

He managed to have the second-fastest 40-yard dash and did the second-most bench presses.

Williams is projected to be either a late-round draft pick or a free agent, but with a good showing today, he may have slightly improved that status.

How Ducks’ safety room looks with Evan Williams transfer, return of Jamal Hill, Steve Stephens IV

With Jamal Hill and Steve Stephens coming back in 2023, plus Evan Williams’ transfer, how does the depth at Oregon’s safety position look?

One of the bigger question marks on the Oregon Ducks’ roster going into the 2023 offseason was on the defense, particularly when it came to the secondary. We knew that Bennett Williams was going to be taking off without any more eligibility remaining, but there were guys like Jamal Hill, Steve Stephens, and Bryan Addison, all of whom had decisions to make on whether or not they wanted to return in 2023 or not.

On Tuesday afternoon, we got a much clearer look at what the safety position will look like going into the fall.

The Oregonian’s James Crepea reported just after noon that both Hill and Stephens would be returning for another year in Eugene. This will be Hill’s fifth season with the Ducks, and Stephens’ sixth.

That news only further boosts the position which already got a positive development earlier in the month with Fresno State safety Evan Williams announcing that he would transfer to Oregon as well.

So with those three anchoring the back end of the secondary in 2023, who will be the other players to look for rotating throughout spring football and into the early part of the season? While the roster is still in flux with potential transfer between now and fall camp, here’s where the depth of the Ducks’ safety position currently stands.

Transfer Profile: 5 things to know about Oregon newest DB Evan Williams

Evan Williams is more than just Bennett’s younger brother. He comes to Eugene as one of the best safeties in the Mountain West.

Perhaps it was destiny, common sense or a little of both. But when Fresno State safety Evan Williams announced he was transferring, Eugene popped up as an obvious landing spot.

Williams made it official when he told the world he was coming to Oregon to play for the Ducks, following in the footsteps of his older brother Bennett Williams, who put a bow on his Oregon career in 2022.

Evan is much more than Bennett’s younger brother. He is one of the Mountain West’s best defenders over the last two seasons. Oregon’s secondary is looking to improve, and it just added one of the best safeties on the West Coast.

With the quarterback talent in the conference, the Ducks will need all the secondary talent they can get, and adding another Williams brother will go a long way toward competing for a Pac-12 title.

Are you looking to know more about Williams and what he brings to the Ducks? We’ve got you covered.

Ducks predicted to land former Fresno State safety Evan Williams from transfer portal

Evan Williams, the younger brother of Ducks’ safety Bennett Williams, is in the transfer portal and predicted to land at Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks are unfortunately going to lose safety Bennett Williams this offseason as the veteran runs out of collegiate eligibility, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be keeping things in the family in the future.

It was reported on Wednesday that Evan Williams, the younger brother of Bennett, is planning to leave the Fresno State Bulldogs and enter the transfer portal. Williams has already picked up a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to commit to transfer to the Ducks.

This would be a good addition for Oregon, which has a need for help and depth in the secondary. Williams has had a prolific career at Fresno State, where he stuffed the stat sheet in 32 career games across four seasons with the Bulldogs. Many were wondering whether or not Williams would return to Fresno State or enter the NFL draft this offseason, but it appears that he may choose to finish out his career with a new school instead.

Evan Williams’ Transfer Portal Profile

Stock Report: Oregon’s defense has best performance in years vs. Utah

Oregon’s defense came to play, and Bo Nix showed his heart. Our stock report from the Ducks’ big win over Utah on Saturday.

Any way you want to look at it, that was one of the more impressive victories that we’ve seen from the Oregon Ducks in several years.

Coming off of a brutal loss to the Washington Huskies, Dan Lanning’s squad was forced to prepare for a game against the No. 10 Utah Utes without certainty at the quarterback position, trying to bounce back from the disappointing loss and keep their Pac-12 Championship hopes alive. When you add in the fact that Oregon’s season was completely derailed by Utah a year ago with two blowout losses at the end of the year, then it only added to the stakes.

It all resulted in a very gutsy win from the Ducks. A win where the defense was the story of the game, rather than an offense that ranks among the best in the nation. A lot of individual players stepped up, and a few coaching decisions went awry.

As we do every week, let’s identify players who saw their stocks go up, and a few who might have seen a slight dip against Utah:

Report card: A dramatic turnaround gives Oregon Pac-12 title hopes

It’s not often a position group turns an F into an A+ in just seven days, but the Oregon secondary was great against Utah.

It was exactly one week ago when we had to go through each position group and dissect a disappointing 37-34 to the Huskies of all teams.

It wasn’t fun. Not by a long shot. We even gave our first F in the history of these report cards. We seriously hope it’s the last time.

But this week’s report card will be fun.

Oregon’s defense played its best game of the year and while it would have been nice if they played like this against Washington, it was better late than never. On Senior Night, the Ducks came up big with three interceptions, including one with just over four minutes to play.

Utah scored 17, but the defense gave up just 10 points as one touchdown came thanks to a botched trick play by the offense. It wasn’t Oregon’s best moment of the season, but the defense was able to play through the adversity and keep the Utes off the scoreboard just enough to win.

And we haven’t even mentioned the heroics of quarterback Bo Nix playing on virtually one leg due to a bad ankle. All of this adds up to an epic night inside Autzen.

Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after Oregon’s 20-17 win over Utah

“Sometimes I think our best shows up when everyone else doubts us, which we certainly take note.”

Some games look good on paper. Some games look better to the eye.

Saturday night’s game between the Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes is not one that will have you diving deep into the box score to see all of the wild stats. Rather, it was a game filled with heart, toughness and a will to win that we haven’t seen in some time in Eugene.

Dan Lanning’s team fought hard, and despite being injured and banged up, it prevailed over the No. 10 Utes, 20-17. It was a game Oregon dominated early, but had to pull out in the very end. Thanks to some stellar play from Bennett Williams and the defense, and a gutsy performance from Bo Nix and the offense, the Ducks kept their Pac-12 Championship hopes alive.

Here are some of the most notable things that Lanning had to say after the victory: