Eastern Michigan Athletics
Football
King-Williams, Vontrell
vs
Northern Illinois
Oct 11 (Sat)
TBA
Vontrell King-Williams
- Title:
- Graduate Assistant - Defense
- Email:
- vwilli31@emich.edu
- Phone:
- 734.487.2160
Entering his first year at EMU is Vontrell King-Williams, who returns to Ypsilanti after spending the past two years at Liberty University. King-Williams serves as EMU’s defensive tackles coach after previously serving as a defensive graduate assistant for the program.
After a successful collegiate career, King-Williams has spent the past five seasons climbing the coaching ranks in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
King-Williams spent the last two years with Liberty University, working with the defensive linemen in a graduate assistant role. While in Lynchburg, Va., the Flames won an incredible 18 games including becoming one of just five FBS teams to win a bowl game each of the last three seasons (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana).
In 2021, Liberty’s defense ranked 14th nationally in tackles-for-loss at 7.2 per game, while finishing 28th nationally with 2.85 sacks per contest. The Flames were also 11th in the FBS in redzone defense allowing just 22 touchdowns in 40 trips inside the 20-yard-line.
Overall, 14 Liberty student-athletes tallied a sack to go along with 27 notching a TFL.
The 2020 season was the best in school history for the Flames, after finishing the year ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll. Both national rankings were the highest ever in program history. The finish also marked the first time Liberty had concluded a season ranked in the final national polls of the year.
The Flames finished the season with a 10-1 record, tying the program’s record for wins in a season.
Liberty had a season of “firsts” in 2020, including the team’s first-ever national ranking, first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent, the best start in school history (8-0), first-ever win over a top-25 FBS program, and back-to-back bowl game wins.
Liberty defeated a pair of ACC foes in Syracuse and in-state opponent Virginia Tech. The two wins made Liberty the first non-Power 5 team to post a pair of wins over Power 5 schools in the same season since Houston in 2015.
Liberty was one of three FBS teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense in 2020, joining BYU and Clemson. The Flames finished the 2020 season ranked No. 11 in the country in total defense (317.7 yards allowed per game), No. 12 in passing yards allowed (184.0 per game), and No. 22 in scoring defense (20.5 points allowed per game).
Furthermore, King-Williams helped mold four Liberty defensive players that signed NFL free agent contracts after the 2020 NFL Draft.
Before arriving at Liberty, he was a graduate assistant coach at EMU for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In addition to helping with defense, he aided in the development of the team’s recruiting efforts.
In 2019, Eastern played in a postseason bowl for the third time in the last four seasons, and for the fifth time in school history. It was also the first time in program history that EMU played in the postseason in consecutive campaigns.
In 2018, EMU had a dynamite pass defense that ranked 10th overall in passing efficiency defense while holding opponents to a 55 percent completion rate. Eastern rushed the passer without blitzing, as ends Maxx Crosby and Jeremiah Harris combined for 12.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles-for-loss. Crobsy, who was a fourth round pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, ranked seventh in the FBS in TFLs and 42nd in sacks.
EMU was exceptionally stingy late in the year, as the defense only allowed three offensive touchdowns over the final 16 quarters of the season. Moreover, Eastern was ranked 10th nationally for the fewest second-half points allowed at just 8.7 per game.
King-Williams got started in coaching in 2017 as a defensive line intern at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
He transferred to UTSA for his final two seasons of college football (2015-16). As a defensive tackle for current EMU Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Neal Neathery, King-Williams played in 25 career games, recording 17 tackles and one pass deflection.
A native of Chicago, Ill., King-Williams transferred to UTSA after playing at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan. in 2014. He began his collegiate career at the University of Illinois in 2013 where he was a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.
King-Williams earned his bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from UTSA in 2016.
After a successful collegiate career, King-Williams has spent the past five seasons climbing the coaching ranks in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
King-Williams spent the last two years with Liberty University, working with the defensive linemen in a graduate assistant role. While in Lynchburg, Va., the Flames won an incredible 18 games including becoming one of just five FBS teams to win a bowl game each of the last three seasons (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana).
In 2021, Liberty’s defense ranked 14th nationally in tackles-for-loss at 7.2 per game, while finishing 28th nationally with 2.85 sacks per contest. The Flames were also 11th in the FBS in redzone defense allowing just 22 touchdowns in 40 trips inside the 20-yard-line.
Overall, 14 Liberty student-athletes tallied a sack to go along with 27 notching a TFL.
The 2020 season was the best in school history for the Flames, after finishing the year ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll. Both national rankings were the highest ever in program history. The finish also marked the first time Liberty had concluded a season ranked in the final national polls of the year.
The Flames finished the season with a 10-1 record, tying the program’s record for wins in a season.
Liberty had a season of “firsts” in 2020, including the team’s first-ever national ranking, first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent, the best start in school history (8-0), first-ever win over a top-25 FBS program, and back-to-back bowl game wins.
Liberty defeated a pair of ACC foes in Syracuse and in-state opponent Virginia Tech. The two wins made Liberty the first non-Power 5 team to post a pair of wins over Power 5 schools in the same season since Houston in 2015.
Liberty was one of three FBS teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense in 2020, joining BYU and Clemson. The Flames finished the 2020 season ranked No. 11 in the country in total defense (317.7 yards allowed per game), No. 12 in passing yards allowed (184.0 per game), and No. 22 in scoring defense (20.5 points allowed per game).
Furthermore, King-Williams helped mold four Liberty defensive players that signed NFL free agent contracts after the 2020 NFL Draft.
Before arriving at Liberty, he was a graduate assistant coach at EMU for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In addition to helping with defense, he aided in the development of the team’s recruiting efforts.
In 2019, Eastern played in a postseason bowl for the third time in the last four seasons, and for the fifth time in school history. It was also the first time in program history that EMU played in the postseason in consecutive campaigns.
In 2018, EMU had a dynamite pass defense that ranked 10th overall in passing efficiency defense while holding opponents to a 55 percent completion rate. Eastern rushed the passer without blitzing, as ends Maxx Crosby and Jeremiah Harris combined for 12.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles-for-loss. Crobsy, who was a fourth round pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, ranked seventh in the FBS in TFLs and 42nd in sacks.
EMU was exceptionally stingy late in the year, as the defense only allowed three offensive touchdowns over the final 16 quarters of the season. Moreover, Eastern was ranked 10th nationally for the fewest second-half points allowed at just 8.7 per game.
King-Williams got started in coaching in 2017 as a defensive line intern at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
He transferred to UTSA for his final two seasons of college football (2015-16). As a defensive tackle for current EMU Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Neal Neathery, King-Williams played in 25 career games, recording 17 tackles and one pass deflection.
A native of Chicago, Ill., King-Williams transferred to UTSA after playing at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan. in 2014. He began his collegiate career at the University of Illinois in 2013 where he was a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.
King-Williams earned his bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from UTSA in 2016.
| The Vontrell King-Williams File | ||
| Name: | Vontrell King-Williams | |
| High School: | Mt. Carmel - Chicago, Ill. | |
| College: | University of Texas at San Antonio - Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies - 2016 | |
| Coaching Experience | ||
| Year | School | Position |
| 2022-Present | Eastern Michigan University | Assistant Coach/Defensive Tackles |
| 2020-21 | Liberty University | Defensive Graduate Assistant |
| 2018-19 | Eastern Michigan University | Defensive Graduate Assistant |
| 2017 | University of Texas at San Antonio | Defensive Line Intern |
| 2015-16 | University of Texas at San Antonio | Football student-athlete |
| 2014 | Butler Community College | Football student-athlete |
| 2012-13 | University of Illinois | Football student-athlete |
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