USC hires key Oregon recruiter Donte Williams as CBs coach
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After a couple days of mounting buzz, USC hired cornerbacks coach and top recruiter Donte Williams away from Oregon, creating a major splash in recruiting circles while prying a key assistant away from a conference rival.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and Antonio Morales first reported the news Monday that Williams would become the Trojans' new cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator.
Williams confirmed the news later in the evening with a tweet explaining some factors behind the move.
"This was extremely hard to write and an even harder decision to make. Oregon became a second home to me and my family thanks to coach [Mario] Cristobal, with the vision he has and the amazing staff and culture that's put in place," he wrote. "... Due to my father's aging/failing health, I'm lucky coach [Clay] Helton, coach [Todd] Orlando and Mr. [Mike] Bohn are giving me an opportunity to come home and make a decision where I can put my immediate family first and become head of my household. With that all being said, it's time to take back the west. Fight on."
Williams has a reputation of being a top recruiter who helped Oregon sign the No. 9 class in the 2020 cycle, and he has especially strong ties in Southern California. This hire is another impressive addition to USC's offseason defensive overhaul.
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The Trojans hired longtime defensive coordinator Todd Orlando last month along with safeties coach Craig Naivar, who worked under him at both Houston and Texas.
Then two Sundays ago USC let go of three more defensive assistants, completing a total housecleaning on that side of the ball.
It was reported last Thursday that the Trojans are hiring longtime Kansas State special teams coordinator to fill that same role here. With Williams now on board, that leaves only a defensive line coach left to be added.
USC head coach Clay Helton had said last Wednesday that he and Orlando had a cornerbacks coach in mind at that time and he expected all the remaining hires to be completed within about two weeks.
Those who know Williams noted on Sunday to TrojanSports.com that moving closer to his parents in the Los Angeles area, where he's from, was an appeal to he and his wife, which he confirmed in his tweet.
Williams spent two seasons at Oregon and helped improve the Ducks' pass defense from 89th nationally in 2018 (240.6 passing yards per game) to 53rd this year (220.1). He previously spent a season each coaching the corners at Nebraska (2017) and Arizona (2016) and three seasons at San Jose State (2013-15).
According to The Oregonian, he earned $400,000 in base salary last year plus $55,000 in performance bonuses and was due $450,000 next year. Details of his contract with USC are not known. Had Williams left Oregon prior to Jan. 31, he would have owed a $100,000 buyout, but he does not owe anything now according to the terms of his contract there.
Williams helped Oregon sign the No. 9-ranked 2020 recruiting class. He was one of the lead recruiters on Oregon 4-star DB signees Dontae Manning (Raymore, Mo.) and Luke Hill (Baltimore, Md.), as well as 4-star WR Kris Hutson and 3-star DB signee Jared Greenfield (Narbonne HS), who both chose the Ducks over USC.
Williams was also the main reason 2018 5-star cornerback Chris Steele initially committed to Oregon after announcing he was leaving Florida, before ultimately transferring to USC.
It's well known that USC has struggled to keep the top talent in Southern California close to home of late, and Williams should help in that regard. The Trojans also failed to land any defensive backs in their 2020 class despite trying for a number of targets. Again, Williams' track record indicates he will help those efforts in this next cycle.
