Jacksonville State eyeing former Georgia and Florida State coach as next DC 

Jacksonville State turned a corner in December, hiring Charles Kelly as its next head coach, after Rich Rodriguez returned to his old stomping grounds in Morgantown, W. Va. The Gamecocks are entering their third season on the FBS level, having gone 18-9 over the first two.

Kelly will look to keep with the level of success that his predecessor set, and according to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, he's aiming to bring on a familiar face from his past that could help him do that.

Kelly coached alongside Williams at Florida State when the former was the Seminoles' defensive coordinator. The pair was part of a 29-game winning streak in Tallahassee, including a BCS national championship crown in 2013. FSU's defense allowed all of 12.1 points per game that season with linebackers Telvin Smith and Reggie Northrup.

Kelly most recently served as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Auburn. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Colorado under Deion Sanders. With the Buffaloes, he coached this season's Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter.

Who is Jacksonville State target Brian Williams?

Williams has climbed up the coaching staff for the Terrapins, having begun as the team's outside linebackers coach in 2019, moving laterally to coach their defensive line in 2020, and becoming co-defensive coordinator the season after.

"Williams is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the nation," Williams' Maryland bio reads. "He was dubbed as the top recruiter in the Big Ten and sixth best recruiter nationally by 247 Sports after the 2021 recruiting cycle."

Williams' Maryland defense allowed 22.5 points per game in 2023, its fewest since 2010. Defensive backs Tarheeb Still, Beau Brade, and Ja'Quan Sheppard were All-Big Ten honorees under Williams. As were defensive lineman Quashon Fuller and linebackers Ruben Hyppolite II and Jaishawn Barham.

Prior to his time in College Park, Williams was the linebackers coach at UAB (2016-18), player relations director at Georgia (2015) and a defensive analyst at Florida State (2013-14).

Jacksonville State could benefit from Williams' ability to draw in talent, especially at a level that's most times overlooked and relies on finding diamond-in-the-rough-type players. The move from a Power 4 school would be an interesting decision, however.