Auburn football: CW high on Travis Williams-Miami hire

It’s official–Travis Williams is no longer an Auburn football coach. The Miami football program completed their staff after hiring the former Auburn defensive coach, fondly known as T-Will.

Travis Williams played linebacker for the Auburn Tigers from 2001-2005 and had a major impact on the defense. In 2004, he led Auburn in tackles with 80 total, and in 2004 and 2005 won the Pat Dye Leadership award on defense.

Williams went on to play two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, and began his career with the Auburn football program in 2014.

Now, he begins the next chapter of his career with the U…and FanSided’s Miami Hurricanes sister site Canes Warning is rightfully bullish on the hire:

"Williams was a strong recruiter for Auburn. Williams was credited with one four-star recruiting signing with Auburn in 2021. The Tigers finished with 38th ranked recruiting class nationally and 11th in the SEC.Coaching LBs, Williams mentored two of the top eight tacklers in the SEC in 2020. Zakoby McClain led the SEC with 113 tackles and added 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Owen Pappoe finished eighth in the conference with 93 tackles, six TFLs and four sacks. Bradley Jennings Jr. led Miami LBs with 39 tackles."

Williams will head to Miami with the departure of former Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator Blaker Baker to LSU last week, finding a new coaching home after new HC Bryan Harsin chose not to retain him for the 2021-22 season. He leaves behind a legacy of a strong, consistent linebacker group.

Although it’s always hard to see a former Tiger leave the Plains, we’re happy for T-Will, and he’s happy too:

While FWE has long hoped for the retention of Williams in any capacity–with my coeditor Andrew Hughes starting a #RetainTWill hashtag–we are now fans of the U in ACC play (especially against Clemson).

War Eagle, Coach Williams. You will always be a part of the Auburn family.