Trevor Williams backed into coverage and shuffled to the left as he watched Middle Tennessee’s quarterback shift his attention.
That’s how the Sam Houston linebacker was in the exact right position to intercept the pass. This moment, on his team’s Senior Day, for a senior who helped the Bearkats transition to the FBS seemed fitting.
But Williams wasn’t done. He evaded tackles as he returned the pick all the way back to the end zone. His touchdown was crucial in Sam Houston’s 23-20 Conference USA victory, their first league win at home during their FBS era.
“That was really cool,” Jared Hensley, Sam Houston’s former linebackers coach who now works with the same position group at New Mexico State, said. “It was an amazing play, but it was really cool for him to have such a great game on Senior Day and to finish out his career the right way.”
Hensley couldn’t speak highly enough about Williams. He helped the Bearkats win an FCS title during the spring of 2021, a season which was postponed due to COVID-19.
He also became Sam Houston’s all-time leader in tackles with 395 during the program’s Division I era. That’s after starting off as a walk-on.
“It’s crazy,” Williams said. “For me to break that record for Division I, that was amazing. It was just a testament to the loyalty of me staying here and just all the hard work throughout the years and throughout the seasons to get to Sam as a walk-on and to finish like that breaking a record, that’s something I won’t ever forget.”
But here’s an even more unique thing about Williams: He opted to sit out the 2022 season with his extra year of eligibility so he could play in the FBS for Sam Houston. His coaches felt his presence would be critical as the program made the jump up.
They were right. He was a first-team All-CUSA selection in 2023 and now has hopes of making it in the NFL.
“Trevor Williams is a once-in-a-lifetime player. There’s only one of those guys. He’s a special, special guy,” Hensley said. “He’s a four-time team captain, and he’s an overachiever. Great teammate, outstanding person. I mean outstanding. Very motivated, very disciplined, goal-oriented guy. And when he gets on the field, he’s just unbelievable.”
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Trevor Williams’ Sam Houston Career
Williams, who’s from College Station, Texas, said staying in the state when he went to college was significant for him. And playing at the next level about an hour away from home was even better.
Hensley recruited Williams out of high school. He recalled thinking how badly he wanted Williams to join the Bearkats, even if he was undersized, but they didn’t have any scholarships. He was willing to walk on, but he contributed as a true freshman on special teams. Hensley recalled, as soon as Williams was given a heavy amount of snaps as a sophomore due to an injury to one of Sam Houston’s starters, he flourished.
Williams totaled 15 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks against Lamar that year. He had at least five tackles in six games that season.
During the 2021 spring season, Williams made the All-Southland second team after being in the top five in the league with 8.8 tackles per game and tied for the best in the FCS with 15 TFLs.
One of his best performances that season: a nine-tackle game against South Dakota State to help Sam Houston win a national title.
And in 2021, he tallied 78 tackles and 5.5 TFLs en route to All-WAC first-team honors.
Williams admitted he thought of hitting the transfer portal and exploring his options. But it didn’t end up being too difficult of a decision.
“An even stronger thought for me was to stay just because I had done so much there and all the people that I met,” Williams said. “There was just something in me that I didn’t want to quit on my team.”
Williams could come back in 2022 because athletes who played in the 2020-21 academic year received an extra year of eligibility. Right before fall camp going into that season, Sam Houston’s coaches presented the opportunity for Williams to redshirt that season.
Williams said those coaches didn’t pressure him one way or another. But that gave him the chance to play in the FBS like he always wanted.
In his fourth game, against Stephen F. Austin, he tore the labrum in his shoulder and it required surgery.
His recovery took about six months. He confessed to feeling nervous about returning for such a substantial season for him and the program.
But he was thankful for that time as well. He feels it made him better overall. And it’s tough to argue with that considering what he did in 2023.
Williams led the country with 85 solo tackles and tied for 10th in the FBS with 135 total tackles. He was on the All-Conference USA first team and was the league’s defensive player of the week after he recorded 12 tackles, half of a sack, and his pick-six against MTSU.
“You can’t even imagine his impact,” Hensley said. “It gives his teammates confidence, even other linebackers that are playing next to him. They feel more confident just being next to him, knowing they love playing with Trevor, and so there’s a level of confidence to him that he gives his teammates because they know he’s going to get them lined up.
“He will have a legacy here forever.”
Williams is not only one of the most instinctual players Hensley has ever been around. He proves he wants to be great by the sheer amount of toil he puts in.
And that drive never wavered when Sam Houston started the 2023 season 0-8 and the possibility of going winless loomed. Hensley pointed out how important Williams was during that time.
The toll of losing weighed on Williams, but he kept working. And that attitude influenced the entire program.
“The combination of him being instinctual, knowing his job, executing it, and then playing with an unbelievable motor, that’s how he was able to lead all of FBS in solo tackles,” Hensley said. “It’s funny because you talk to other coaching staffs in our conference and talk to other coaches that are offensive coaches or defensive coaches, and they all talk about him. They shake hands after the game and, ‘Where’s No. 1? Where’s No. 1?’ He made an impression on everybody. Not only here but in our league and around the country. I think people started to notice.
“He has worked extremely hard. He’s a very gifted athlete, but he’s worked extremely hard. … We counted on him a lot as far as he makes all of our checks. He’s like Peyton Manning back there at linebacker as far as checking stuff and getting us in and out of defenses and communicating. It’s like I’m coaching a coach and so I can make adjustments and he can handle them and it’s just a lot of fun to have a guy like that that can handle that stuff but then also be able to execute it from a mental and physical standpoint.”
Trevor Williams’ NFL Hopes
With a resume like Williams’, one would think he’ll have a pro football opportunity in some capacity. However, some teams are concerned about his size.
He was 5-foot-9, 210 pounds in college. But pro scouts have taken notice of his talent, Hensley said. And when they watch tape of Williams, they’ve been impressed with how he was in on every tackle.
Williams attended a showcase this offseason, performing in front of over 100 scouts from the NFL and CFL. He felt he garnered some attention during one-on-one pass rush drills and scrimmages.
“There’s so many people. Everybody has the same desire, same motivation there,” he said. “Overall, it was a good experience, and I think I did some good things there.”
Now, he’s preparing for Sam Houston’s Pro Day, which is on March 19. He hopes to run a 4.5-second 40-yard dash. He believes good testing numbers will help scouts overlook his size.
While he wouldn’t like to completely stop playing linebacker, Williams also noted he wouldn’t mind playing a safety/linebacker hybrid role – which just further highlights the importance of testing well at his pro day.
“I think just with the mindset that my parents have put into me and just the work that they instilled in me has allowed me to not worry about what other people say,” Williams said, “not only prove others wrong but to prove myself right. And that’s something I’ve tried to do every single day.”
Considering all Williams has done at Sam Houston, Hensley is continuing to believe in him, even up against pro-level athletes.
“I believe that whoever it is and whatever level it is, they’re not going to be disappointed if they give him a chance,” Hensley said. “In his heart, he believes he can do it, and I wouldn’t doubt him with what he’s done with his life and his career. It’s hard to doubt the guy.”
