Former Arkansas DC Travis Williams joins Texas A&M coaching staff

Mike Elko has announced another addition to his defensive coaching staff, as Travis Williams is headed to Texas A&M as associated head coach of defense and linebackers.

Williams, 42, was most recently the defensive coordinator at Arkansas for the last three seasons (2023-2025) under head coach Sam Pittman.

Following Jay Bateman’s departure for Kentucky, Elko previously added Elijah Robinson back to the coaching staff as defensive analyst Lyle Hemphill was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Now, Williams will join the staff that is tasked with elevating an Aggie defense that ranked in the nation’s top 20 in 2025.

While in Fayetteville, he presided over one of Arkansas’ best defenses in over a decade in 2023 as the Hogs allowed 357.2 yards per game, the program’s lowest average since 2017 (323.4). That year, Arkansas ranked fourth in the SEC in passing defense (202.8) and picked off 12 passes to finish third.

Williams’ time with the Razorbacks ended on Sept. 29 when interim head coach Bobby Petrino fired him and two other defensive coaches.

During his three-year stint at Arkansas, three defenders earned first-team All-SEC accolades, including Landon Jackson twice (2023, 2024) and Quincy Rhodes Jr. (2025).

A linebacker by trade, Williams was a two-time second-team All-SEC pick (2004, 2025) during his collegiate career at Auburn.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under Gene Chizik from 2009 through 2011, before one-year stints at Northern Iowa as the linebacker coach and at Georgia’s Creekside High School as the defensive coordinator in 2013.

Williams returned to Auburn as a defensive analyst for Gus Malzahn in 2014 and was elevated to the Tigers’ linebacker coach in 2016 before serving as the co-defensive coordinator in both 2019 and 2020.

While coaching on The Plains, Williams mentored All-SEC linebackers Tre Williams (2017), Deshaun Davis (2018) and K.J. Britt (2019).

Prior to arriving at Arkansas, he was Malzahn’s defensive coordinator for two seasons at UCF in 2021 and 2022.

A native of Columbia, SC, Williams graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from Auburn in 2005 before earning a master’s degree in adult education in 2011.