ESPN Ranks Cal DB Nohl Williams Among the Nation's Top 25 Players

Williams is one of just three ACC players on this ESPN midseason list of standout college players

Nohl Williams / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal cornerback Nohl Williams has been about as productive as a defensive back can be over the Bears’ first six games.

He leads the nation with six interceptions – two more than anyone else – and has returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

He has been so impressive that ESPN.com ranked him among the top 25 college players at midseason.

Williams is ranked the No. 24 player in the country, with this description from ESPN.com.

If you are a quarterback and you see Williams out in the distance covering one of your receivers, here's a word of advice: Don't throw it there. There might be more talented corners in college football, but through six games, no one has made offenses pay the way Williams has. The senior leads the nation in interceptions with six -- yes, that is one per game -- which is two more than any other defensive back in the country and three times as many as he had all of last season. -- Paolo Uggetti

Williams is one of just three ACC players in this top-25 ranking, joining Boston College defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, who is ranked No. 18, and Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who is No. 3.

Williams is also one of just three defensive back on this list, along with Michigan’s Will Johnson at No. 17 and Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who is ranked No. 3 and is listed as a wide receiver by ESPN.com but also makes major contributions as a defensive back.

Cal’s Williams was not on ESPN.com’s preseason list of the top 100 college players.  Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott was ranked No. 42 on that preseason list, but injuries have forced him to miss two games this season and limited his productivity in two others.

It’s unlikely that Williams will maintain his current pace of averaging one interception per game, but he does have a shot at matching or passing Deltha O’Neal’s single-season Cal record of nine interceptions set in 1999. Williams also has an outside shot at being the Golden Bears’ first first-team All-America selection since 2019, when linebacker Evan Weaver was a consensus All-America pick.

Williams has a long way to go to match the NCAA record for interceptions in a season, which is held by Louisville's Gerod Holliman, who picked off 14 passes in 2014.

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