UNLV Transfer Nohl Williams Brings Fiery Personality to Cal's Secondary

New guy with the unusual first name should help Golden Bears at the cornerback spot

To play cornerback in a major college football program, it helps to exude confidence.

Nohl Williams, who transferred from UNLV to Cal in December, brings that trait.

“Unbelievable addition in terms of personality, and some of those mental and emotional traits,” Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said of Williams. “Really pleased to have him.”

Williams said that may be his biggest contribution to the team.

“I feel like I add a fire, that competition,” Williams said Wednesday following the fourth day of spring workouts. “I’m not scared to talk to the offense, talk a little trash, bring that spark of making a play out of nowhere.”

Williams was recruited by Mountain West and Big Sky schools out of high school in Oxnard, Calif., but after three impressive seasons at UNLV he felt he was ready for a step up in class in the Pac-12. He was not named to the official Mountain West all-conference first or second team voted on by the coaches, but the Mountain West Wire website made his a second-team all-conference selection.

Williams has faced Power Five Conference schools, starting games against Cal and Notre Dame in 2022, and facing Arizona State and Iowa State the year before. But after being a three-year starter at UNLV and with two seasons of eligibility left, Williams wanted to test himself in the Pac-12.

“Nohl wanted to be at a level that he thought he could get more competitive week to week,” Sirmon said.

Williams agrees.

“Better exposure for me personally, I think,” he said.

Moreover, Cal offered Williams the opportunity to have a significant impact.

“I felt like I could really start something here,” he said. “That’s bigger than going to a program that’s already winning. I’m basically just trying to ride my own wave.

“I feel like we could shock a lot of people this year. People don’t expect us to win that many games probably, but I feel like we could really shock the world.”

Cal needs players like Williams and Colorado transfer cornerback Kaylin Moore to have a significant impact, because the Bears’ cornerbacks were not as strong in 2022 as they had been in previous seasons.

“A little bit up and down” is how Sirmon characterized Cal’s cornerback play in 2022. The secondary was not the stellar group it was in 2019 and 2020. All four of Cal’s starting defensive backs those two seasons were on NFL rosters in 2022, and three of them – Camryn Bynum, Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins – have been starters in the pros.

Cornerback play is the key to any defensive success, and the Bears need improvement in that area.

“We have to schematically help and improve the roster in those regards as well,” Sirmon.

Cal obviously believes Williams will improve the roster in the secondary, although it might not be at cornerback. That’s the position Williams played at UNLV and the position he prefers, but Sirmon says Williams’ versatility could allow Cal to play him at any of the five defensive back positions.

“He’s just a DB,” Sirmon said.

Another thing that makes him distinctive is his first name, Nohl (pronounced Noll). He explains in the video below that he was supposed to be named Sterling, but his mother decided on Nohl, with the addition of the distinguishing H. His love of deep-sea fishing distinguishes Williams too.

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