The Oklahoma Sooners are reportedly adding to their support staff with a former NFL player who knows head coach Brent Venables well.
According to a report from On3 SoonerScoop’s George Stoia III, OU is hiring former NFL defensive lineman DeShawn Williams to its staff as a defensive analyst. Williams played college football at Clemson from 2011 to 2014, playing the final three years of his career for Venables when he was the defensive coordinator for the Tigers. During his time at Clemson, Williams registered 86 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, three pass breakups, and a recovered fumble.
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After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Williams signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he played from 2015 to 2017, appearing in just four games. All of those games came in the 2016 season. From there, he bounced around practice squads and tried his hand in the CFL, before landing with the Denver Broncos in 2020.
That’s when Williams’ career took off, as he became a starter for the Broncos for the next three seasons. He had his best year in 2022, when he had 4.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. In 2023 he played for the Carolina Panthers, before signing with the Buffalo Bills. He was cut, but found his way back to the Panthers for the 2024 season. That would be the final season of Williams’ career, as he didn’t register any stats for Carolina.
Now, Williams will join Venables’ staff in Norman, reuniting with his DC of three years. He’ll presumably work with the defensive line, and he’ll join OU’s stable of analysts on the defensive side of the ball. They include senior defensive analyst Xavier Brewer, defensive analyst/player development coach Rufus Alexander, and defensive analysts Jeremiah Criddell, Trent Simpson, and James Skalski.
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On the other side of the ball, the Sooners still have special assistant to the head coach/offensive analyst Kevin Wilson, senior offensive analyst John Kuceyeski, and offensive analysts Nick Basquine, Blaise Bentsen, Colt Garrett, Darrian Wilson, and Clayton Woods.
The Sooners still need to hire a new cornerbacks coach to replace assistant head coach for defense/co-defensive coordinator/pass defense/cornerbacks and nickelbacks coach Jay Valai, who was hired by the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Oklahoma has already made the addition of Jason Witten to the staff as tight ends coach, replacing Joe Jon Finley.
OU hopes that Williams can bring his experience as a defensive lineman at the highest level of football to the staff in Norman, and help the Sooners remain elite up front defensively.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: OU is adding another defensive analyst to its staff, per report
