Williams listed on Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List
MOBILE, Ala. - Carson-Newman senior safety Major Williams has been placed on the 2025 Senior Bowl Watch List, the bowl announced Wednesday afternoon.
MOBILE, Ala. - Carson-Newman senior safety Major Williams has been placed on the 2025 Senior Bowl Watch List, the bowl announced Wednesday afternoon.
This year's 12th annual list is comprised of an all-time record 859 prospects. This total number is up significantly from past years due to the new addition of specialists and underclassmen, as well as the inclusion of many fifth and sixth-year seniors opting to use their extra Covid year of eligibility. All the prospects who made the cut were evaluated bythe Senior Bowl staff and tape-based grades were also logged on hundreds of other senior prospects who ultimately did not make the list.
Williams is just one of eight players from NCAA Division II on the list. He is joined by Lenoir-Rhyne's Andre Jefferson as players from the South Atlantic Conference earning recognition. The SAC and the NSIC (with players from Concordia St. Paul and Northern State) are the only Division II leagues with multiple players on the list.
This is the third substantive preseason accolade Williams has pulled in. He has also been nominated for the AFCA Good Works Team and included on Bruce Feldman's annual College Football Freaks List.
Carson-Newman junior safety Major Williams was lauded with a spot on the D2football.com Elite 100 list following the 2023 season. The rebranded listing is D2Football.com's All-America team, making Williams the Carson-Newman football program's 129th All-American all-time. Carson-Newman's 129 All-Americans are the most in the South Atlantic Conference.
Williams continues a sensational run by Carson-Newman defensive backs, joining Desmond Fairell (2019), Darius Williams, no relation (2017), Jerry Miclisse (2016) and Eien Jacob (2014) as DBs to have earned All-America status in the last decade.
Carson-Newman's third-leading tackler in 2023, Major Williams did things no other defensive back has done in the history of the football program. Williams made 53 tackles on the year, including 10 behind the line of scrimmage. He is the first defensive back in the history of the Carson-Newman football program with double-digit tackles for loss in a single season. He also had two sacks, both against Erskine (Oct. 14) to become the first defensive back with two sacks in a game as well. The Fort Myers, Fla.-product also had a pick, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, five pass break ups and five quarterback hurries on the year. Williams topped out with eight tackles in three consecutive weeks against Newberry (Sept. 30), Tusculum (Oct. 7) and Erskine (Oct. 14).
He had multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage against the Fleet, Pioneers and at UVA Wise (Nov. 5). His contest at Wise featured his first career fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, bring back a loose pigskin 40 yards to the house. He tallied his lone interception of the year in the Eagles' opener against Virginia Lynchburg (Aug. 31).
