ASSISTANT COACHES
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2013 Georgia State Football
FOOTBALL STAFF
J
.D. Williams, who brings 16 years
of college coaching experience
and a successful career in the
National Football League, joined the
Georgia State football staff of head coach
Trent Miles as secondary coach and
special teams coordinator.
Williams, a former first-round NFL
draft pick who was a member of four
Super Bowl teams with the Buffalo Bills,
comes to Georgia State after three seasons
on the defensive staff at UNLV. He also
has seven years of experience in the
Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) and previously
worked with Miles at both Washington
and Fresno State.
“J.D. Williams brings experience
from playing at the NFL level and
coaching at the highest level of college
football,” Miles said. “He’s been at some
of the best programs in the nation, he
has coordinated a defense, and he is an
excellent recruiter.”
At UNLV, Williams served two
seasons (2010-11) as the Runnin’ Rebels’
assistant head coach, secondary coach
and pass defense coordinator before he
was elevated to defensive coordinator in
2012, when he continued to coach the
defensive backs.
Williamswent toUNLVafter spending
the 2009 season as the cornerbacks coach
at Utah. The Utes posted a 10-3 record,
including a victory over Washington in
the Poinsettia Bowl, and ranked 16th in
the nation in passing yards and ninth in
pass efficiency defense.
That followed three seasons at
Washington (2006-08) and four seasons
at California (2002-05). At Washington,
he worked on the same staff with Miles
his first two years. During his tenure at
California, Williams helped the Golden
Bears to a 33-17 overall record and three
bowl game appearances.
Williams moved into coaching
in 1997 after his NFL playing career,
beginning as a graduate assistant at his
alma mater, Fresno State, where Miles was
on the coaching staff. He then coached
the secondary at San Jose State in 1998
and Cal Poly in 1999 before returning to
Fresno State as secondary coach for two
years (2000-01). He helped the Bulldogs
to an 18-7 record and a pair of bowl
berths.
After a standout playing career at
Fresno State, Williams was a first-round
J.D. WILLIAMS
Defensive Backs / Special Teams
First Year at GSU
NFL Draft pick in 1990, going to the
Buffalo Bills with the 16th selection. He
went on to play on the Bills’ four Super
Bowl teams from 1990-93, including
Super Bowl XXVIII at the Georgia Dome.
He also played for the Arizona Cardinals
and San Francisco 49ers before his
six-year pro career ended after the 1996
season.
Williams, from Coalinga, Calif.,
earned his bachelor’s degree in crimi-
nology from Fresno State in 1997. He
and his wife, Jamie, have four children:
Nicole, Kyra, Zoe and David.
