Cornelius Williams (American football)

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For other people named Cornelius Williams, see Cornelius Williams (disambiguation).
Cornelius Williams
Current position
TitleWide receivers coach
TeamMiddle Tennessee
ConferenceCUSA
Biographical details
Born (1987-09-06) September 6, 1987 (age 36)
Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
2006–2009Troy
Position(s)Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2010South Alabama (GA)
2011Murray State (WR)
2012North Alabama (WR)
2013Jacksonville State (WR)
2014UAB (WR)
2015–2020Troy (WR)
2021Auburn (WR)
2022Alabama (offensive analyst)
2023New Mexico (WR)
2024–presentMiddle Tennessee (WR)

Cornelius Terrell Williams (born September 6, 1987) is an American football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

Early life and high school[edit]

Cornelius Terrell Williams was born on September 6, 1987, to Jeff and Wanda Singer.[1] Williams was born in Mobile, Alabama but later moved to the city of Hoover inside the metropolitan area of Birmingham, Alabama.[2][3]

After playing football at Simmons Middle School, Williams attended Hoover High School and played football there under head coach Rush Propst. As a freshman, Williams played quarterback and wide receiver for the junior varsity football team.[4] Williams joined the varsity football team as a sophomore, in which year he had 49 catches for 565 yards and 9 touchdowns from quarterback John Parker Wilson. In Williams' junior year, he caught 55 passes with 11 touchdowns, helping Hoover to a 15–0 record.[5] During his senior year, Williams, along with the Hoover High School football team, was featured on the MTV reality show Two-A-Days.[6] Midway through the season, quarterback Ross Wilson suffered a concussion, and Williams played quarterback until Wilson returned from injury. Williams ultimately finished the season with high school career-highs, including 77 catches, 1,299 receiving yards, and 18 touchdowns.[7] Additionally, Williams was named an all-star by the ASWA[8] and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.[9] During his time at Hoover High School, Hoover won the state championship every year Williams was there.[10]

College career[edit]

Williams chose to attend Troy University to play football in college.[11] In his freshman year, Williams recorded 6 catches for 32 yards. Williams saw an increase in those statistics his sophomore year, with 19 catches, 217 yards, and 2 touchdowns. The next year, Williams' catches and receiving yards dropped to 18 and 174, but he did set a career-high with 3 touchdowns. In his senior year, Williams set a career-high with 20 catches and 341 yards, along with 2 touchdowns.[12][13]

Coaching career[edit]

After graduating from Troy with a degree in sport and fitness management, Williams became a graduate assistant for South Alabama in 2010. The next year, Williams received his first wide receiver coaching job with Murray State. Over the next three years, Williams served as the wide receivers coach at North Alabama, Jacksonville State, and UAB.[14][15] Following the folding of the UAB football team after the 2014 season, Williams joined his alma mater, Troy, as a wide receivers coach in 2015.[16] Williams served in that role until 2021 when he was hired as the wide receivers coach for the Auburn Tigers football team.[17][18][19] However, Williams was fired after only four games in the 2021 season,[20][21][22] with head coach Bryan Harsin citing that "a change needed to be made."[23][24] Williams was hired as an offensive analyst the next season by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.[25][26] The next year, Williams returned to the role of wide receivers coach at New Mexico.[27][28] In 2024, Williams became the wide receivers coach for Middle Tennessee.[29]

Personal life[edit]

Williams is married to Kiley Williams (formerly Miller), and has three children: Ellis, Wynn, and Maverick.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cornelius Williams". Troy Trojans. May 20, 2024.
  2. ^ King, Nathan (April 6, 2021). "Cornelius Williams brings extensive in-state experience to Auburn". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Vitale, Josh (April 9, 2021). "Wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams brings the right experience to Auburn". Delco Times. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "Words of Wood - Cornelius Williams". Hoover High Athletics. October 26, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Cornelius Williams". Tuscaloosa News. August 15, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  6. ^ Ferguson, Justin (January 25, 2021). "An Introduction to Cornelius Williams". The Auburn Observer. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Cornelius Williams". Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "ASWA names All-State, Super 12 team". Rivals. December 17, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Johnson, Jon (July 21, 2021). "Cornelius Williams, right at home at Auburn, finally teaming up with Etheridge". Opelika-Auburn News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "Hoover repeats in 6A; Clay County wins in 2A". Tuscaloosa News. December 3, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Rapoport, Ian (October 17, 2008). "'Two-A-Days' stars take divergent paths". ESPN. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  12. ^ "Cornelius Williams". ESPN. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Johnson, Jon (July 20, 2021). "Former Troy star Williams right at home on Auburn staff". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  14. ^ Han, Gianna (April 12, 2021). "How Cornelius Williams wove his way through Alabama to Auburn". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  15. ^ Champlin, Drew (February 18, 2024). "UAB formally announces hires of assistant football coaches Cornelius Williams, Mike Bennefield". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  16. ^ Birdsong, Nick (December 12, 2024). "Former UAB assistant Cornelius Williams hired at Troy after Blazers' football program shutdown". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Vitale, Josh (January 16, 2021). "Auburn football hires Troy's Cornelius Williams as wide receivers coach". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Alabama native Cornelius Williams excited for chance to coach Auburn football". Montgomery Advertiser. April 7, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Hill, Jordan (April 6, 2021). "Auburn receivers coach Cornelius Williams eager to make most of opportunity". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Ubben, David (September 26, 2021). "Auburn fires first-year wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams". The Athletic. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  21. ^ Green, Tom (September 26, 2021). "Auburn fires wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams after 4 games". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Hill, Jordan (September 26, 2021). "Auburn fires wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams after four games". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Green, Tom (September 27, 2021). "Bryan Harsin: Firing receivers coach Cornelius Williams 'not ideal' but needed to be done". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Hill, Jordan (September 27, 2021). "Bryan Harsin addresses WRs coach Cornelius Williams' dismissal, what's next for position". Opelika-Auburn News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  25. ^ Casagrande, Michael (March 3, 2022). "Alabama hires former Auburn WR coach for analyst role". AL.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  26. ^ Tsoukalas, Tony (March 3, 2022). "Alabama Adds New Analysts Todd Grantham, Cornelius Williams to Staff Directory". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  27. ^ Backus, Will (January 5, 2023). "New Mexico hiring Cornelius Williams as WRs coach: Alabama analyst, ex-Auburn assistant reportedly to Lobos". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  28. ^ Porter, Charlie (January 5, 2023). "Alabama analyst reportedly lands WR coach job at New Mexico State". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  29. ^ Carpenter, Michael (December 29, 2023). "Cornelius Williams Named as MTSU Receivers Coach". Cheatham County Source. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  30. ^ "Mason names Williams as receivers coach". Go Blue Raiders. December 21, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
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