FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is expected to hire Central Florida defensive coordinator Travis Williams to the same position, a source confirmed to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Saturday.
Multiple publications, including On3.com, 247Sports and The Athletic, reported the expected move earlier Saturday. The hiring has not been officially announced by the Razorbacks.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said Friday he was nearing a hire at defensive coordinator, but said he did not know when he would make an announcement as he weighed recruiting ramifications for his program and the program impacted by the hire.
Williams, 39, is in his second season coordinating the defense under UCF head coach Gus Malzahn. The Knights rank 39th nationally in scoring defense (23.2 points per game) and 71st in total defense (382.6 yards per game) this season. UCF also ranks fifth in red-zone defense with a stop rate of 31.5% in 54 attempts.
Williams previously coached seven seasons under Malzahn at Auburn, including two seasons as the Tigers’ co-defensive coordinator from 2019-20.
At Auburn, Williams worked on staff with current Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain — first as a graduate assistant from 2009-11, then as a full-time assistant from 2014-16.
Williams spent the 2012 season coaching linebackers at Northern Iowa. He served as defensive coordinator in 2013 at Creekside High School near Atlanta.
Williams grew up in Columbia, S.C., and lettered at Auburn from 2001-05. He was a two-time All-SEC linebacker and was an honorable mention All-American as a junior in 2004.
Williams would replace former Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who was hired as head coach at UNLV on Dec. 6. Pittman said Michael Scherer, the Razorbacks’ second-year linebackers coach, will call plays during Arkansas’ game against Kansas at the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28.
Asked Friday what he was looking for in a permanent replacement for Odom, Pittman said he wants to hire a candidate who can recruit well, who has multiple defensive sets and who will give the Razorbacks more looks with a four-man defensive front.
“I want to get a good man that gets along with the staff, the players respect and I’m looking for some aggressiveness out of that coordinator,” Pittman said. “Recruiting, coaching — those two things are big. And what kind of person is he? Will he be able to get players and will he be able to keep them? You’re not going to be able to keep all of them; I get that. I don’t believe any school is keeping all of them. But that’s what I’m looking for, and I think I’ve found it in two or three guys, to be honest with you.”