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Georgia reportedly replacing Fran Brown with defensive assistant from USC
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Georgia is reportedly planning to hire USC defensive backs coach Donte Williams to serve in the same position with the Bulldogs, according to DawgsHQ’s Jake Reuse. Williams will step in to replace the departed Fran Brown, who left to take over as the head coach at Syracuse.
Williams spent four seasons at USC. He was initially hired in 2020 by then-head coach Clay Helton and was the only assistant retained by Lincoln Riley in 2022 when he took over.
He posted a message on social media Saturday thanking Helton and Riley for his time in Los Angeles.
“When one chapter closes, another begins,” he wrote.
Williams is best regarded as a recruiter, and he’s spent almost his entire coaching career on the West Coast. Aside from a one-year stint at Nebraska in 2017, Williams also has prior stops at Washington (2011-12), San Jose State (2013-15), Arizona (2016), and Oregon (2018-19).
He helped USC land 5-star defensive lineman Korey Foreman and 5-star wideout and Freshman All-American Zachariah Branch. He led recruitments for 5-star corners Brandon Lockhart and Domani Jackson. At Oregon, he recruited 5-star linebacker Justin Flowe and 5-star corner Dontae Manning. At Nebraska, he helped the program sign 4-star, top-50 wideout Tyjon Lindsey.
Since moving to USC, Williams has also seen two of his defensive backs drafted into the NFL. Talanoa Hufanga was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Mekhi Blackmon was a third-round pick in the 2023 draft.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
