Donte Williams - Football Coach

Donte Williams

Title:
Interim Head Coach
Email:
football@usc.edu
Phone:
(213) 740-4204
Instagram:
@coachdee_usc

Donte Williams, who has more than a dozen years of experience coaching defensive backs and is regarded as one of the nation's top recruiters, enters his second season as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator on Lincoln Riley’s staff after serving as the Trojans' interim head coach in 2021. Overall, he is in his fourth season at USC.

He coached group of defensive backs who made massive contributions to the Trojan defense throughout the 2022 season. He tutored Mekhi Blackmon, an All-Pac-12 First Team member who recorded 66 tackles (fourth on the team), including 2.0 for loss of 7 yards. He led the team with 12 pass breakups and decorated his stat sheet with 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery and 1 forced fumble. USC played in the Cotton Bowl to conclude the 2022 season.

He was named USC's cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator in February of 2020.  In December of 2020, he added the title of associate head coach.  Then, on Sept. 13, 2021, he was named USC's interim head coach after head coach Clay Helton was relieved of his duties.  He had a 3-7 overall record as interim head coach.  Cornerback Chris Steele made All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2021.

In 2020, Steele made All-Pac-12 second team, while cornerback Olaijah Griffin was ranked the Pac-12's No. 3 cornerback by Pro Football Focus.  USC's pass defense allowed just 216.3 yards, its fewest since 2013.  Williams was named the nation's third best recruiter (No. 1 in the Pac-12 for the second consecutive year) by 247Sports.

Williams spent the previous 2 seasons (2018-19) as Oregon's cornerbacks coach.  The Ducks were second in the nation in interceptions in 2019 (with 20) and 11^th in 2018 (17).  Oregon played in the 2018 Redbox Bowl and then won the 2019 Pac-12 championship and played in the Rose Bowl.  He was named the nation's seventh best recruiter (No. 1 in the Pac-12) for the class of 2020 by 247Sports.

In 2017, he coached Nebraska's cornerbacks, nickelbacks and dimebacks as well as helping with the Cornhuskers' pass defense coordination.

Williams, 40, was the cornerbacks coach at Arizona in 2016.

Prior to that, he spent 3 seasons (2013-15) at San Jose State, coaching the cornerbacks the first season and serving as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator the final 2 seasons.  In 2014, the Spartans' pass defense (117.8) and passing touchdowns allowed (6) were tops in the nation, improving 85 and 102 spots, respectively, in the national rankings from the previous year.  Then in 2015, as SJSU played in the Cure Bowl, the Spartans were second nationally in pass defense (157.8) and 29^th in passing TDs allowed (16).  He also was named a Top 10 national recruiter by Sports Illustrated in 2015 after being selected as the Mountain West's best recruiter in 2014 by 247Sports.

He was a graduate assistant at Washington in 2011 and 2012, working with the cornerbacks and linebackers.  The Huskies played in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and 2012 Las Vegas Bowl.  In the summer of 2012, he was a summer coaching intern with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

He spent 2010 as a quality control coach at Nevada, helping with the linebackers.  The Wolfpack played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl that season.

He began his coaching career as a cornerbacks coach at the junior college level, first at Los Angeles Harbor College in 2007, then El Camino College in 2008 and Mt. San Antonio College in 2009.

He played football at Culver City (Calif.) High.

He then played defensive back at Pasadena (Calif.) City College in 2002, Syracuse in 2003 and Idaho State in 2004 and 2005.  He was an All-Big Sky first teamer and team captain both seasons at Idaho State.

He received his bachelor's degree in communication from Idaho State in 2006.

He then played 2 seasons in the Arena Football League 2, for the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2007) and Arkansas Twisters (2008).

He was born on Sept. 1, 1982.  His wife's name is Jayna.  He has a son, King.  His cousins are former USC defensive backs Kris Richard (1998-2001), who played with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks (2002-04) and San Francisco 49ers (2005) and then coached with USC, Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, and Darnell Lacy (1996-98).

WILLIAMS SNAPSHOT

BIRTHDAY: Sept. 1, 1982
FAMILY: Single; Son, King.
HIGH SCHOOL: Culver City (Calif.) HS
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, communication, Idaho State, 2006
PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Culver City (Calif.) HS
    Pasadena City College, defensive back, 2002
    Syracuse, defensive back, 2003
    Idaho State, defensive back, 2004-05
    Rio Grande Valley Dorados, defensive back, 2007
    Arkansas Twisters, defensive back, 2008
COACHING EXPERIENCE: 14 years

YEAR	TEAM	POSITION	BOWL
2007	Los Angeles Harbor JC	Cornerbacks	--
2008	El Camino JC	Cornerbacks	American
2009	Mt. San Antonio JC	Cornerbacks	Southern California*
2010	Nevada	Quality Control/Linebackers	Kraft Fight
2011	Washington	Graduate Assistant/CBs, LBs	Alamo
2012	Washington	Graduate Assistant/CBs, LBs	Las Vegas
2013	San Jose State	Cornerbacks	--
2014	San Jose State	Secondary/Recruiting Coordinator	Cure
2015	San Jose State	Secondary/Recruiting Coordinator	--
2016	Arizona	Cornerbacks	--
2017	Nebraska	Cornerbacks	--
2018	Oregon	Cornerbacks	Redbox
2019	Oregon	Cornerbacks	Rose
2020	USC	Cornerbacks/Def. Pass Game Coord.	--

*State champion
NFL STARS: Bene Benwikere, Mike Harris, Desmond Trufant, Marcus Peters, Joshua Kalu, Akeem King, Dane Cruikshank, Chris Jones, Andre Chachere