On Saturday night, two former Florida starting defenders made their commitment to transfer to Texas A&M: linebacker Scooby Williams and him.
Linebacker Scooby Williams was quick to follow nickel cornerback Jaydon Hill Saturday night in committing to transfer from Florida to Texas A&M, announcing the move via On3 Sports.
This past week, Williams, Hill, and former Florida cornerback Jalen Kimber—who had previously committed to transfer to Louisville—all paid a visit at Texas A&M. It was revealed that Williams had made a pledge less than three hours after Hill’s.
Williams, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, signed a contract with Florida in 2021 as a projected top-75 overall prospect and was regarded as the nation’s top edge rusher recruit at the time.
Williams was viewed by Florida’s former and current coaching staffs—the latter under Billy Napier—as a better fit at the second level of the defense and off the ball. Williams played eight games in 2022 after redshirting in 2021 and recorded 14 tackles at the new position.
During this time, he gained a lot of support from Texas A&M defensive coordinator and former Florida inside linebackers coach Jay Bateman.
“The guy that’s jumping out right now is Scooby Williams. Scooby is a really unique player. At the end of the season, we were doing some pretty creative things with him. He has a chance to be really good,” Bateman said about Williams in April 2023. “What we’re asking Scooby to do right now and what we will ask him to do during the season, I think very few people can do. We literally have calls where he’s playing one position and based on the call he goes and plays another position.”
Williams first made an impression as a starter in coordinator Austin Armstrong’s Florida defense in 2023, sharing the inside linebacker position with sophomore Shemar James. As a first-team member for UF, Williams amassed 53 tackles, including four for loss, one sack, and two forced fumbles.
On December 31, not long after Bateman left Florida for a job at Texas A&M, Williams registered on the NCAA transfer portal.
Following Williams’ departure, Florida was quick to pinpoint his possible replacement at linebacker. Grayson “Pup” Howard, a rising sophomore “backer” who transfers to the Gators after spending one season at South Carolina, made his transfer commitment official.
Howard, paired with incoming freshmen Myles Graham and Aaron Chiles, will inject fresh talent into a unit in need of better play next to rising junior and incumbent starter Shemar James and better depth behind the first-team. Despite missing the final four games of the season with an injury, James finished second among UF defenders with 54 total tackles in 2023.
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