Football
- Title:
- Wide Receivers
- Email:
- nick.williams@siu.edu
- Phone:
- 618-453-7981
Nick Williams is in his third season coaching the wide receivers for Saluki Football and also serves as the program's pro liaison with NFL teams. He got his start playing and coaching for Nick Saban at Alabama, where he played wide receiver and helped lead the Crimson Tide to National Championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Alabama posted a 49-5 record during his playing career and won two SEC Championships.
After graduating from Alabama with a degree in Business Management in 2012, he began his coaching career as an intern and offensive analyst for the Crimson Tide. He was responsible for wide receiver scrimmage production and organized and ran the scout team offense.
After serving one season as the offensive graduate assistant at Valdosta State in 2013, Williams joined the staff at Jacksonville State, where he coached wide receivers for three seasons. The Gamecocks went 23-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference during that time and spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in the nation in 2015 before losing in the national championship game.Â
Williams’ receiving corps set a school record with 3,102 receiving yards in 2015. Josh Barge was a first-team All-OVC wide receiver after hauling in 92 catches for 1,145 yards and 11 touchdowns, all school records.Â
In his first season at SIU in 2017, SIU’s receiving corps posted 18 touchdowns, led by junior Darrell James, who had 47 catches for 773 yards and eight TDs. James earned All-Conference honors.
In 2018, SIU’s offense featured one of the league’s top wideouts in Raphael Leonard, who led the team with 57 catches for 847 yards and 7 TDs. After the season, he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Williams is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and prepped at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. His father, Bobby Williams, is currently the special teams coordinator for the Oregon Ducks. Previously, served as a special assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama after serving as the Crimson Tide’s tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. He was the head coach at Michigan State from 2000-02.
