Breaking News: Vontrell King-Williams on the Fence to accept Auburn promotion or….
After reports emerged on February 2 that Jeremy Garrett would be leaving Auburn to join the Jacksonville Jaguars, it didn’t take long for Hugh Freeze to identify Auburn’s next defensive line coach. Just five days later, it seems Freeze will be promoting Vontrell King-Williams from within the program, elevating him from defensive analyst to defensive line coach. Brian Stultz of Auburn Rivals’ was the first to report King-Williams’ promotion on Wednesday afternoon.
King-Williams’ promotion follows his tenure under Garrett during the 2023 season at Auburn. Before joining Auburn, King-Williams coached at Eastern Michigan, where he primarily focused on coaching defensive tackles. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant under Freeze at Liberty, again specializing in defensive line coaching during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
With King-Williams now assuming the role of Auburn’s defensive line coach and assuming no further changes, Auburn’s defensive staff for the 2024 season appears to be set. The staff will feature new faces in defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, along with returning linebackers Josh Aldridge and Wesley McGriff, as well as the newly promoted King-Williams.
Former Auburn defensive lineman Marcus Harris expressed his support for Wednesday’s news, endorsing King-Williams’ promotion in a post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
Aside from his coaching experiences at Auburn, Eastern Michigan, and Liberty, King-Williams also served as a defensive line intern at his alma mater, the University of Texas at San Antonio, during the 2017 season. Originally from Chicago, King-Williams began his collegiate playing career at the University of Illinois in 2012 and 2013 before transferring to Butler Community College for a year. He then concluded his playing days at UTSA, where he participated in 25 games and recorded 17 tackles over two seasons of play.
