Donté Williams joined the San José State University football staff in January 2013 as the cornerbacks coach. In January 2014, he was promoted to defensive backs coach with responsibilities for the entire secondary.
In his first season with the Spartans in 2013, he coached Bené Benwikere to first-team All-Mountain?West honors. Benwikere went on to play in the East-West Shrine Game and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Draft[apos]s fifth round. Dasheon Frierson, a returning starter opposite Benwikere, set a single-game school record with five passes defended in the Hawai[apos]i win.
His impact on the program extends into the daily recruitment of future San José State players. He was recognized by 247 Sports.com as the Mountain West Conference[apos]s [quote]Recruiter of the Year[quote] and was listed as the runner-up by Scout.com for the same honor.
Williams came to the Spartans after two seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Washington working with cornerbacks and linebackers. He was at University of Nevada as an assistant linebacker coach in 2010.
Williams began his coaching career in 2007 as an assistant coach at Los Angeles Harbor College. He also worked one season each at El Camino College (2008) and Mt. San Antonio College (2009).
In 2012, Williams completed a summer coaching internship with the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to the start of the Spartans[apos] 2014 camp, he was a guest coach in the New Era All-Star Game in Japan.
The 2006 Idaho State University graduate played college football at?Syracuse in 2003 and Idaho State in 2004 and 2005. Professionally, Williams played two seasons in Arena Football League 2 (AF2) for the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (2007) and Arkansas Twisters (2008). He was a first-team all-league player and a defensive team captain in each of his two seasons.
DONTE WILLIAMS YEAR-BY-YEAR
| Born: September 1, 1982 in Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| 2014 | San José State University defensive backs coach |
| 2013 | San José State University cornerbacks coach |
| 2011-12 | University of Washington graduate assistant |
| 2010 | University of Nevada assistant linebackers coach |
| 2009 | Mount San Antonio College secondary coach |
| 2008 | El Camino College secondary coach |
| 2007 | Los Angeles Harbor College secondary coach |
THEY PLAYED FOR COACH WILLIAMS
| Bené Benwikere, CB | 2014 Carolina Panthers 5th round draft pick |
| Mike Harris, DB | Jacksonville Jaguars, 2 NFL seasons |
| James-Michael Johnson, LB | Kansas City Chiefs, 2 NFL seasons |
| Brandon Marshall, LB | Denver Broncos, 2 NFL seasons |
| Dontay Moch, DE | Cincinnati Bengals, 3 NFL seasons |
| Desmond Trufant,?CB | Atlanta Falcons, 1 NFL season |