Can Nohl Williams Pick Off Cal's Single-Season Interception Record?

The senior cornerback leads the nation with six and needs just three more to match Deltha O'Neal's 1999 Cal standard

Nohl Williams celebrates one of his six pass interceptions / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Lost in the details of Cal’s latest narrow defeat on Saturday was senior cornerback Nohl Williams intercepting his sixth pass of the season.

That’s the most by a Cal player for a full season since Jaylinn Hawkins had six in 2018. No Golden Bear has more picks in a season since Daymeion Hughes nabbed eight back in 2006.

A senior from Oxnard and a second-year Cal player after transferring from UNLV, Williams padded his lead among the top pass thieves in the country. He now has two more than any other player in FBS.

His interception in the 17-15 loss at now-20th-ranked Pitt marked the fifth time in six games he has picked off at least one pass in a game.

*** Cal coach Justin Wilcox talks in the video above about the Bears' defensive effort against Pitt.

His next opportunity to add to his total is Saturday afternoon at home when the Bears (3-3, 0-3 ACC) face North Carolina State (3-4, 0-3).

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has been playmaker for the Bears since his arrival in 2023. He had fumble returns for touchdowns in consecutive games last season against USC and Washington State.

Nohl Williams dashes into the end zone after a pick vs. Miami / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

He returned a kickoff 80 yards for a TD in the 2024 opener vs. UC Davis and posted his first pick-six, a 40-yarder, against Miami.

That’s four touchdowns in a season-and-a-half from a guy who doesn’t even play offense.

Williams’ consistent production has positioned him to challenge Cal’s single-season interception record of nine, by Deltha O’Neal in his spectacular 1999 campaign.

O’Neal returned those picks for 280 yards, with four of them resulting in touchdowns, earning him All-America honors. He also averaged 10.2 yards on 42 punt returns with one touchdown and 29.2 yards on 19 kickoff returns with a score.

That all adds up to 1,263 return yards and six TDs. Pretty good.

Williams won’t challenge those yardage totals, but he needs just three more interceptions in six games to match O’Neal’s single-season record.

Hughes is second on the list with eight in 2006, two of them pick-sixes.

Five players are tied for third with seven each, including Jackie Jensen (1947), who was a consensus All-America running back a year later and went on to become a College Hall of Famer and the American League MVP in 1958.

Williams is tied for eighth on the single-season chart along with nine other players, including Hawkins (2018), David Ortega (1987) and Ken Wiedemann (1967).

It’s unlikely Williams will come anywhere close to Cal’s career interception record of 16, set by Wiedemann (1967-69). He had seven in ’68 and six in ’67. Hughes (2003-06) is second on the career list with 15 and three players share third place with 12 each.

Williams has eight at Cal, including two he secured as a junior in 2023. He had five over his three seasons at UNLV, giving him 13 for his college career.

Add those to the nine picks he nabbed at Pacifica High School, and Williams' combined prep/college total is 22.