Troy University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Wide Receivers
- Email:
- cwilliams9261@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3682
Cornelius Williams, who won four Sun Belt championships and helped lead Troy to three bowl games as a player, begins his sixth season as an assistant coach at his alma mater coaching the outside receivers.
Since that time, Troy receivers have earned 12 All-Sun Belt honors including a pair of first team selections by Emanuel Thompson and most recently Damion Willis & Kaylon Geiger.
 Last season, outside receivers Reggie Todd and Khalil McClain combined for 83 receptions, 12 touchdowns and 1228 yards. As a unit, the receivers topped the 100-yard mark 11 different times to shatter the Troy school record that previously stood at seven games.Â
As an offense, the Trojans topped the 500-yard mark in total offense on six different occasions to tie the program’s DI record and scored 35-plus points eight times; the second most in program history and fourth most in Sun Belt Conference history. The Trojans finished ninth nationally in passing offense (313.2), 25th in scoring offense (33.8) and 18th in total offense (456.3).
Thompson led the Sun Belt with 80 receptions in 2016 -- the second most in a season in Troy history -- and finished third with 820 receiving yards. Deondre Douglas, who would earn three All-Sun Belt honors in his career, tied for third with 60 catches and 740 yards; Douglas' 60 catches without a drop led all players in the country.
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In 2018, Willis finished with the second most receiving yards in a game in school history after a 10-catch, 213-yard performance against Louisiana and ranked ninth nationally with seven catches of 40-plus yards despite missing a pair of games.
Troy finished the 2016 season 10-3 with a victory in the Dollar General Bowl, the first top-25 ranking in school and Sun Belt Conference history and the best win-improvement in the country.
In 2017, Troy set a school FBS record for wins as the Trojans finished the season 11-2 with a Sun Belt championship, New Orleans Bowl title and a victory at No. 22 LSU. Damion Willis tied the New Orleans Bowl record with his 11 catches in Troy’s 50-30 victory over North Texas. Douglas continued to show his flair for the dramatic as he caught-game winning touchdowns passes against Akron (66 seconds) and Arkansas State (17 seconds).Â
In his first season at Troy, the offense improved its per-game averages in scoring (6.1) and passing yards (42.0), in passing touchdowns (9), total offensive touchdowns (5), penalty yards per game (-2..2), sacks allowed (-5), red zone scoring (8 percent), first quarter scoring (57) and third quarter scoring (34).
Additionally, Teddy Ruben earned second team All-Sun Belt honors after ranking second in the league in touchdown receptions and third in receiving yards.
The Trojans began to click offensively as the season progressed as they averaged 36.0 points over the final six games of the season with three 40-point games. Troy scored 144 points over a three-game stretch against New Mexico State, Appalachian State and ULM -- the most in a three-game period by a Troy squad since 1993.Â
Neal Brown, who was an assistant coach at Troy from 2006-09, coached Williams throughout his career at Troy. Williams was a four-year letterman for the Trojans and helped lead Troy to a combined 26-3 Sun Belt Conference record. He finished his Trojan career with 63 receptions for 764 yards and seven touchdowns.
Williams made his return to Troy after spending the previous two seasons as the wide receivers coach on Bill Clark’s staffs at UAB (2014) and Jacksonville State (2013).
UAB averaged 33.2 points and 431.8 yards of total offense in Williams’ lone season coaching the Blazers, both totals were good for fourth in the offense-heavy Conference USA; wide receiver J.J. Nelson was a fifth round selection of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2015 NFL Draft. Williams and the Jacksonville State offense had similar success as the Gamecocks averaged 442.5 yards of total offense and 35.2 points per game, good for second in the Ohio Valley Conference.Â
Williams helped orchestrate a monumental turnaround at Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks went from a 6-5 team prior to his arrival to advancing to the FCS Quarterfinals. The Gamecocks, who upset No. 6 McNeese State in the second round of the playoffs, finished the season 11-4 and ranked No. 10 in the final The Sports Network FCS Top 25 Poll. Additionally, wide receiver Josh Barge earned freshman All-America honors following the season.
Prior to Jacksonville State, Williams coached the wide receivers at North Alabama in 2012 and Murray State in 2011. In 2011, Murray State led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense at 37.1 points per game, total offense with 460.9 yards per game and passing offense with 308.6 yards per game.
Williams was an offensive graduate assistant coach at South Alabama in 2010, while Clark ran the South Alabama defense. In his only season with the Jaguars, he was part of a South Alabama offense that finished with a perfect 10-0 record and averaged 439 yards and 41.3 points per game.
A standout at Hoover High School, Williams helped lead the Buccaneers to four consecutive Alabama 6A state championships and a combined 56-3 record. He was named all-state his senior year after setting a school record with 77 receptions for 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game and was ranked 16th in The Birmingham News’ Super Seniors.
Williams graduated from Troy University in 2010 with a degree in sport and fitness management. He is married to the former Kiley Miller from Little Rock, Ark., and the couple has two daughters, Ellis and Wynn, and one son, Maverick.
