Auburn to elevate Vontrell King-Williams to defensive line coach
AUBURN, AL – March 01, 2023: Vontrell King-Williams, an Auburn defensive analyst, working out in the spring at the Woltosz Football Performance Center. Declan Greene took the picture.Auburn University Sports.
Hugh Freezeappears to have made up his mind quickly about Auburn’s next defensive line coach following the February 2 reports that Jeremy Garrett would be hired away by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It seems that five days later, Freeze will be promoting Vontrell King-Williams from within the program to defensive line coach, up from defensive analyst. The promotion of King-Williams was first reported by Auburn Rivals’ Brian Stultz on Wednesday afternoon.
King-Williams was promoted after playing for Auburn during the 2023 season under Garrett.
King-Williams was the defensive tackle coach at Eastern Michigan prior to the fall of last year. Prior to that, King-Williams served as Liberty’s graduate assistant under Freeze in 2020 and 2021, again concentrating on the defensive line.
Barring any alterations, King-Williams’ appointment as Auburn’s defensive line coach appears to have set the stage for the team’s makeover for the 2024 campaign, which will include newcomers in the form of co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin. Josh Aldridge, the linebackers coach, Wesley McGriff, the secondary coach, and the elevated King-Williams are all back on Auburn’s defensive staff.
Marcus Harris, a former defensive lineman for Auburn, responded positively to the news on Wednesday by supporting King-Williams’ promotion in a post on X, a social media site that was formerly known as Twitter.
King-Williams attended Auburn, Eastern Michigan, Liberty, and his alma mater, the University of Texas at San Antonio, before spending the 2017 season as an intern on the defensive line.
Chicago native King-Williams began his playing career at the University of Illinois, where he played for two seasons in 2012 and 2013, before spending a year at Butler Community College. King-Williams played his final two seasons at UTSA, where he made 25 appearances and recorded 17 tackles.
