Tag: travis williams

Five burning questions for Arkansas football as spring practice begins

Frankly, Arkansas’ defense stunk last year. Will spring show any signs of improvement?

Welcome to football season, Arkansas.

Sort of.

Spring football season, anyway. But, frankly, after Arkansas’ middling 2022 fall season, the spring is of massive importance. The Hogs have a whole new look on defense and a ton of freshmen are in early from high school. Coach Sam Pittman, heading into his fourth year, has a pair of new coordinators, as well.

And while Dan Enos’ return to Fayetteville is of interest, KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders provide him plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. So, instead, new defensive coordinator Travis Williams will have plenty of his on his defense.

With things getting underway Thursday in Fayetteville, let’s take a look at the five key questions for Arkansas this spring.

Arkansas football lands five-star defensive back transfer from Georgia

In case you missed it: Arkansas football landed a former five-star defensive back from Georgia via the transfer portal on Tuesday.

[autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] and [autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag] just landed the best remaining prospect in the transfer portal, five-star defensive back Jaheim Singletary from Georgia.

He was one of the most highly-sought high school prospects in the 2022 recruiting class and chose to sign with Georgia over Ohio State and Auburn. The Jacksonville (Fla.) native didn’t see any action and redshirted in his first season with Bulldogs before entering the portal in January.

Singletary is listed at 6-2, 175 pounds and according to his high school scouting report, has all of the tools to become and impressive cornerback for a Top 25 program thanks to his impressive length and instincts.

Arkansas finished dead last in the country in passing defense last season and lost a lot of contributors from that porous secondary, meaning that there were spots open for talented to players to contribute immediately. The Razorbacks also made some key staff additions in the offseason which seem to already be paying off.

[autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] was hired as new defensive coordinator following [autotag]Barry Odom[/autotag]’s departure, and comes with a great recruiting background in key areas. He was hired shortly before [autotag]Marcus Woodson[/autotag] was brought on as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Woodson also has a well-respected recruiting background and helped bring in [autotag]Deron Wilson[/autotag] from Florida as secondary coach.

Arkansas will begin spring practices this Thursday, March 9. The Razorbacks will have 15 practices which culminate with the Red-White Game on April 15.

Arkansas football: Latest recruiting news and updates for 2024 class

As focus shifts from the 2023 recruiting class to 2024, here’s some of the latest updates when it comes to the Razorbacks.

Arkansas football isn’t officially done with the 2023 recruiting class but the main focus has already shifted towards the 2024 class.

Right now, [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] has only secured one commit for the 2024 class, Kavion Henderson – a four-star defensive lineman from Alabama, but that number will grow as we make our way through the spring and summer.

Officially, Arkansas has offered a scholarship to 261 players in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.com’s recruiting database. This will be the first full recruiting cycle for new coordinators [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Enos[/autotag]. Williams, alongside co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Marcus Woodson[/autotag], come to the Razorbacks with well-respected recruiting backgrounds in key areas such as Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

Enos is in his second stint with the Razorbacks and has staff members below him with strong recruiting acumen. [autotag]Jimmy Smith[/autotag] (running backs coach) and [autotag]Kenny Guiton[/autotag] (wide receivers coach) are two of the better recruiters on staff. Arkansas also added [autotag]Morgan Turner[/autotag] from Stanford as tight ends coach, who has an impressive track record of recruiting future NFL tight ends.

Here’s a quick look at some of the latest updates for Arkansas recruiting in the 2024 class.

Arkansas, Sam Pittman officially introduces Travis Williams as defensive coordinator

Williams will now begin his journey as a defensive coordinator at the Power Five level.

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.

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Auburn commits announce early signing period plans

Travis Williams reveals stunning opinion regarding the 2020 Arkansas game

Now a member of the Arkansas coaching staff, Travis Williams recalls THE controversial moment of Auburn’s 30-28 win over the Hogs in 2020.

The Sam Pittman era at Arkansas started on a sour note in 2020.

The Razorbacks had lost four straight games to Auburn and were close to snapping the frustrating streak during the opening weekend of the 2020 season at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Trailing Arkansas, 28-27, with 0:28 seconds remaining in the game, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix took a snap under center in an effort to clock the football. However, Nix fumbled the snap. Once recovered, Nix turned to his right and slammed the football into the ground. The ball was recovered by Arkansas, but an official ruled that Nix would instead be called for intentional grounding.

A few plays later, Anders Carlson kicked a 39-yard field goal to put Auburn ahead, 30-28, and to secure the win.

The official’s decision is still a hot-button topic with Razorbacks’ fans, even three seasons later. On Tuesday, a member of Auburn’s 2020 staff weighed in on the call.

[autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag], who was introduced as Arkansas’ defensive coordinator on Monday, was a guest on the “Razorback Daily” podcast from Hogs Plus.

Host Quinn Grovey brought up the game to Williams, specifically the play with Nix. Williams interjected by sharing his opinion of the controversial call.

“Now, that was a fumble,” Williams laughed.

Following the call, Williams shared details of the conversation that he had with Nix, admittedly hoping that the Tigers would keep the football.

“I was on the other sideline and I said, ‘Bo, I hope the refs mess this up because that was a fumble’.”

The show’s other host, Matt Zimmerman, recalled the moment that the play took place from his seat in the broadcast booth by saying “we were madder than heck. We were mad!”

To listen to the full podcast episode, click here.

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Former Auburn player and coach Travis Williams to become DC at Arkansas

Auburn will face Travis Williams and Arkansas on Nov. 23 in Fayetteville next season.

Former Auburn linebacker [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] is back coaching in the SEC West just not at Auburn.

According to a report by Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, Arkansas is in the process of hiring him to become its defensive coordinator.

Williams has spent the past two seasons as UCF’s defensive coordinator after spending the previous seven years at Auburn in various roles. The former All-SEC linebacker played at Auburn from 2001-05.

His first coaching stint at Auburn was from 2009-11 as a graduate assistant and he returned in 2014 as a defensive analyst. He was promoted to linebackers coach in 2016 and co-defensive coordinator in 2018.

Williams followed former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn to become the defensive coordinator at UCF, his first time having complete control of the defense. The Knights held opponents to 23.2 points per game this season, good enough to rank 39th nationally. They had the best red zone defense in the American Athletic Conference, allowing touchdowns on 44.44% of opponent trips.

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Former Tiger included in “rising star coaching” list

Do not be surprised to see Travis Williams’ name linked to future head coaching vacancies.

During the mid-2000s, Auburn linebacker [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] was considered to be one of the best at his position.

Now, he is considered to be one of the best assistant coaches in the nation.

Williams was recently included in a list titled “25 assistants deserving strong head coach consideration” from On3 for his success in leading UCF’s defense as well as recruiting efforts.

Following a successful playing career at Auburn, Williams began his coaching career on the Plains, serving as an analyst from 2009-11. He spent time away from Auburn during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, gaining experience in on-the-field roles. He returned to Auburn, re-uniting with coach Gus Malzahn in 2014, where he would serve a variety of roles until 2020, when Malzahn was relieved of his coaching duties.

Williams was not retained on the staff once current head coach Bryan Harsin was hired, which allowed Williams to follow Malzahn to UCF, which is where he resides today.

One of Williams’ strong suits is recruiting. While at Auburn, he was responsible for bringing players such as [autotag]KJ Britt[/autotag], [autotag]Smoke Monday[/autotag], and [autotag]Zakoby McClain[/autotag], as well as players that are still on Auburn’s roster including [autotag]Owen Pappoe[/autotag] and [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag] to the Plains.

During his career on the Plains from 2002-05,  Williams recorded 214 tackles, 22.5 of those were for a loss. His best season came during Auburn’s undefeated season in 2004, Williams made 80 stops with 9.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions.

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Twitter reacts to Travis Williams joining UCF as defensive coordinator

Former Auburn linebacker and coach Travis Williams is joining Gus Malzahn at UCF.

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Gus Malzahn has found his defensive coordinator and it is someone he is extremely familiar with.

On Wednesday, it became official that Travis Williams is joining Malzahn and UCF as the Knights new defensive coordinator. Auburn fans were happy to see the former linebacker and linebackers coach get his big chance.

Report: Travis Williams to join Gus Malzahn’s UCF staff as defensive coordinator

Travis Williams is expected to join Gus Malzahn at UCF, becoming the team’s new defensive coordinator. He had originally went to Miami.

This story originally appeared on Auburn Wire.

An Auburn connection might be coming to UCF extremely soon.

Per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, former Auburn linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Travis Williams is expected to join Gus Malzahn’s staff at the American Athletic Conference school.

Williams recently accepted a position as linebackers coach at Miami but with the hiring of Malzahn, who he worked for on the Plains from 2014-20, at UCF, he would be a crucial hire for the former Auburn head coach.

A first-team All-SEC selection in 2004, Williams played linebacker for the Tigers from 2001-05.

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Report: Travis Williams to join Gus Malzahn’s UCF staff as defensive coordinator

Former Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams is reportedly expected to join Gus Malzahn’s staff at UCF as defensive coordinator.

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An Auburn connection might be coming to UCF extremely soon.

Per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, former Auburn linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Travis Williams is expected to join Gus Malzahn’s staff at the American Athletic Conference school.

Williams recently accepted a position as linebackers coach at Miami but with the hiring of Malzahn, who he worked for on the Plains from 2014-20, at UCF, he would be a crucial hire for the former Auburn head coach.

A first-team All-SEC selection in 2004, Williams played linebacker for the Tigers from 2001-05.