SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Carson-Newman senior safety Major Williams (Fort Myers, Fla.) has been named to D2Football.com's Elite 100 Watch List, the organization announced Wednesday evening.
Williams is one of five players from the South Atlantic Conference to make the listing. He registered on the second team.
Williams was lauded with a spot on the D2football.com Elite 100 list following the 2023 season. The rebranded listing is D2Football.com's All-America team, making Williams the Carson-Newman football program's 129th All-American all-time. Carson-Newman's 129 All-Americans are the most in the South Atlantic Conference. Williams did things no other defensive back has done in the history of the football program. Williams made 53 tackles on the year, including 10 behind the line of scrimmage. He is the first defensive back in the history of the Carson-Newman football program with double-digit tackles for loss in a single season.
He also had two sacks, both against Erskine (Oct. 14) to become the first defensive back with two sacks in a game as well. The Fort Myers, Fla.-product also had a pick, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, five pass break ups and five quarterback hurries on the year. Williams topped out with eight tackles in three consecutive weeks against Newberry (Sept. 30), Tusculum (Oct. 7) and Erskine (Oct. 14).
He had multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage against the Fleet, Pioneers and at UVA Wise (Nov. 5). His contest at Wise featured his first career fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, bring back a loose pigskin 40 yards to the house. He tallied his lone interception of the year in the Eagles' opener against Virginia Lynchburg (Aug. 31).
This preseason, he has received a nomination for the AFCA Good Works Team and been listed in Bruce Feldman's College Football Freaks List.
The D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List was selected by the staff of D2Football.com with the input of numerous sitting head coaches as well as professional football scouting veteran Josh Buchanan. The players listed in this release represent the official watch list for the D2Football.com 2024 Elite 100 Team, which will be announced at the conclusion of the season. The team includes first and second team selections for offense, defense and special teams along with 25 "Squad" players for offense and defense. Squad players are equivilent to "honorable mention" selections in similar national recognition lists.
| First Team Offense | ||
| QB | Zach Zebrowski | Central Missouri |
| RB | Blake Delacruz | Harding |
| RB | Jada Byers | Virginia Union |
| WR | Max McLeod | Colorado Mines |
| WR | Tyler Kahmann | Emporia State |
| TE | Sam Pitz | Minnesota Duluth |
| OL | Marshall Foerner | Minnesota State |
| OL | Gabe Clark | Central Missouri |
| OL | Colton Grier | Southern Arkansas |
| OL | Gabe Brown | Grand Valley |
| OL | Bryce George | Ferris State |
| First Team Defense | ||
| DL | Andre Jefferson | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| DL | Marquise Fleming | Wingate |
| DL | Maven Kretche | Minnesota State |
| DL | Marcus Hansen | Bemidji State |
| LB | Micah Cretsinger | Saginaw Valley |
| LB | Garrett Cox | IUP |
| LB | Anthony Cardamone | Grand Valley |
| DB | Tanner Volk | Central Washington |
| DB | Melvin Smith Jr. | Southern Arkansas |
| DB | Peyton Buckley | Augustana |
| DB | Daniel Bone III | CSU Pueblo |
| First Team Special Teams | ||
| K | Logan Turner | Southwest Baptist |
| P | Blake Doud | Colorado Mines |
| AP | Braden Jay | Harding |
| Second Team Offense | ||
| QB | Sammy Edwards | Valdosta State |
| RB | Kendel Givens | Ouachita Baptist |
| RB | Chavon Wright | Charleston |
| WR | Gage Florence | MSU Moorhead |
| WR | Erick Willis III | California PA |
| TE | Eddie Burgess | Upper Iowa |
| OL | Aiden Williams | Minnesota Duluth |
| OL | Slade Edwards | Central Washington |
| OL | Noah Plsek | Angelo State |
| OL | Bruno Onwuazor | Virginia State |
| OL | Jake Gannon | Bemidji State |
| Second Team Defense | ||
| DL | Jamae Blank | UNC Pembroke |
| DL | Dre Hall | Harding |
| DL | Gary Lewis | Henderson State |
| DL | Jake Fisher | Northwest Missouri |
| LB | Jack Barkley | Pittsburg State |
| LB | Kendall Lightfoot | Western Colorado |
| LB | JT Cavender | West Texas A&M |
| DB | Major Williams | Carson-Newman |
| DB | Darius Bruce | IUP |
| DB | Andrew Pitts | Angelo State |
| DB | Josiah Johnson | Ouachita Baptist |
| Second Team Special Teams | ||
| K | Bradley Larson | Angelo State |
| P | Michael Shine | Mississippi College |
| AP | Yogi Flager | McKendree |
| SQUAD Offense | ||
| QB | Brayden Long | Slippery Rock |
| QB | Jack Strand | MSU Moorhead |
| QB | Andrew Edwards | Henderson State |
| QB | Carson Gulker | Ferris State |
| RB | Tyler Flanagan | Central Washington |
| RB | Idris Lawrence | Slippery Rock |
| RB | Kelvin Smith | Delta State |
| RB | Jariq Scales | Southern Arkansas |
| RB | Marcellous Hawkins | Central Missouri |
| WR | Malachi Langley | Lincoln (PA) |
| WR | Jeremiah Taylor | Shepherd |
| WR | Tyrese Hunt Thompson | Ferris State |
| WR | Reggie Ratzlaff | CSU Pueblo |
| WR | Connor Flannigan | Ouachita Baptist |
| WR | Rashawn Harvey | Slippery Rock |
| WR | Jeremiah Cooley | UT Permian Basin |
| TE | Deontay Campbell | Missouri Southern |
| AP | DeAree Rogers | Lenior Rhyne |
| OL | Jett Janssen | Wayne State (Ne) |
| OL | Jaelon Brown | Delta State |
| OL | Sherman Deaton | Emporia State |
| OL | Ty Lucas | Shepherd |
| OL | Adam Kase | Kutztown |
| OL | Nic Van De Graaf | Colorado Mines |
| OL | Yoesph Carter | Findlay |
| SQUAD Defense | ||
| DL | Geemontae Peck | Davenport |
| DL | Hunter O'Connor | Chadron State |
| DL | Stephen Hoffman | Bemidji State |
| DL | Frank Mulipola | UT Permian Basin |
| DL | Byron Puryear | West Florida |
| DL | Niles King | Grand Valley |
| DL | Vershaud Richardson | Arkansas Tech |
| LB | Will Breland | West Florida |
| LB | Domonique Davis | Central State |
| LB | John Johnson | Fort Hays State |
| LB | Cam Hollobaugh | Walsh |
| LB | Alex Kowalczyk | Wayne State (Ne) |
| LB | Dexter Fitzpatrick | Mars Hill |
| LB | Haden Wallace | Augustana |
| LB | Brandon Rawls | Saginaw Valley |
| LB | Trevon Stanford | West Alabama |
| DB | Devin Pringle | Grand Valley |
| DB | Josh Stokes | Slippery Rock |
| DB | Mikael King | Tuskegee |
| DB | Jackson Zimmerman | Colorado Mines |
| DB | Cahleel Smith | Northwest Missouri |
| DB | CJ Brown | Kutztown |
| DB | Michael Brown | Indianapolis |
| DB | Giye Jenkins | New Haven |
| DB | Jordan Rogers | Pittsburg State |
