Miami football staff completed adding LB coach Travis Williams
The Miami football program completed their staff for the 2021 season on Monday adding former Auburn co-defensive coordinator Travis Williams as linebackers coach. Williams was also the Tigers LB coach from 2016-20. Williams began his coaching tenure at Auburn as a defensive analyst from 2014-15.
Williams was available to join the Miami football coaching staff after he was not employed on the Auburn staff for the 2021 season by new head coach Bryan Harsin. Harsin was hired by Auburn from Boise State. Auburn finished 63rd nationally in total defense in 2020 and 38th in scoring defense.
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 has a big task in 2021 of upgrading a Miami LB corps that underachieved in 2020. The return of three-year starter Zach McCloud was supposed to stabilize a young Miami LB corps in 2020. McCloud played in nine of the 11 Miami football games in 2020 finishing with a career-low 27 tackles.
It’s all about the U!!! 🙌🏾🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/2rTs3BEpCW
— Coach T-Will (@T_WILL4REAL) February 1, 2021
McCloud played snaps at defensive end in the Hurricanes 37-34 loss to Oklahoma State in the Cheez-it Bowl in December. Williams and new Miami defensive line coach Jess Simpson will have a decision to make where McCloud plays in 2021. Miami is thin and inexperienced at LB entering the 2021 season.
Freshmen Tirek Austin-Cave and Corey Flagg will push Jennings and McCloud on the depth chart in 2021. Sophomore Sam Brooks, redshirt freshman Avery Huff and redshirt junior Waymon Steed will also be in the mix for playing time at LB. Miami also signed LBs Tyler Johnson and Deshawn Troutman in the 2021 class.
Williams was a strong recruiter for Auburn. Pappoe was a five-star signee and Williams was credited for Auburn signing 11 four-star signees. 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.
Next. Manny Diaz and Travaris Robinson will increase man coverage. dark
Williams played six games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Auburn in 2009. Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was a GA at Auburn with Williams and recently hired Miami defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson later coached with Lashlee at Auburn.