Quick Facts
Biography
Bennett Williams (born February 26, 1999) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Illinois, San Mateo, and Oregon.
Early life
Williams was born on February 26, 1999, in Campbell, California. Williams attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California where he played as a wide receiver and cornerback. On offense brought in 40 receptions, for 824 yards, and eight touchdowns. On defense he made 166 tackles, with seven going for a loss, 46 pass defelections, 17 interceptions, and three forced fumbles. On January 31, 2017, Williams would decide to commit to Illinois to play college football over other school such as Air Force, Columbia, Harvard, Hawaii, San Jose State, Yale, and UNLV.
College career
Illinois
In Williams first season with Illinois he put up 64 tackles, 1.5 going for a loss, three interceptions, two pass deflections, and a forced fumble. For his stellar freshman performance he was named to the Freshman All-American team. To begain Williams sophomore year he was suspended for the first three games of the season. After one year with Illinois, he was dismissed from the team after a violation of team rules.
San Mateo
After being dismissed from Illinois, Williams would transfer to theCollege of San Mateo to continue playing football. In his time with San Mateo, Williams was named a Junior College All American, while also being named first-team All-Bay and earning all-conference honors. Williams would also help lead San Mateo to its first state title.
Oregon
2020-21 season
After one year at San Mateo, Williams transferred to Oregon. In his first season with Oregon he played in six games, making 15 tackles, including two tackles for a loss, a sack, and two pass deflections.
2021-22 season
On September 25, 2021, Williams had his breakout game notching two interceptions, including returning one for a 68-yard touchdown, to help the #3 Ducks, beat Arizona 41–19. For his performance in his breakout game he was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. However just over a week later, Williams would suffer a broken fibula which would cause him to miss the rest of the regular season. Williams would however be cleared to play in the team's bowl game. Williams would finish his shortend year 20 tackles, with one going for a loss, three interceptions, and an touchdown, in five games.
2022-23 season
On November 21, 2022, Williams had one of the best games of his career after racking up 14 tackles, and two interceptions, to help the Ducks upset #10 Utah and help the Ducks keep their chance of reaching the College Football Playoff alive. Williams would finish the season playing in 13 games, while making 72 tackles, with 1.5 being for a loss, a sack, two interceptions, six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.
Professional career
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Williams would sign with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on August 2.