Earlier this year, one of the nation’s best college football players made a major announcement: He’s staying at SIU.
“I’m trying to better everybody around me. I’m trying to better a program, trying to get a program to new heights. What better place to do that than Southern Illinois — the place that gave me the opportunity to be who I am and continue to have my career at a place that believes in me when nobody else did?” said SIU football quarterback DJ Williams.
Williams, a senior from Harvey, Illinois, had one of SIU’s all-time greatest seasons in 2025.
The veteran signal-caller threw for 2,846 yards with 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 12 games. On the ground, Williams was historic, breaking the program’s single-season quarterback rushing record with 847 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The big campaign led to Williams being named a finalist for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the national offensive player of the year at the FCS level. He is just the 10th Saluki to receive the recognition.
“If he’s on the field, he’s always going to be one of the best players, if not the best player,” said Saluki football head coach Nick Hill. “What drives him coming back is to win, and whatever that takes.”
In his decision to return to SIU for his final year of college football, Williams highlighted his relationship and connection with Hill. Since the quarterback transferred to Southern Illinois from Murray State in late 2023, the two have formed a tight bond built on trust.
“He’s been everything I’ve needed as a coach,” Williams said. “He’s been a mentor. He’s been somebody who’s given me the support and confidence that I needed to continue to build my game. He’s continually pushed me to new heights. The plans he has for me is the reason why I stayed. I truly trust him with my entire football career and everything that I have going on. I trust that he’s going to lead me to where I need to be.”
"If he's on the field, he's always going to be one of the best players, if not the best player. What drives him coming back is to win, and whatever that takes."
- SIU Football Coach Nick Hill
In terms of building a culture, Hill says Williams is exactly what a program is looking for in someone to help shape its identity.
“It’s easy to like DJ because he’s got such a great attitude and cares about people,” Hill said. “Everything that you’re looking for as far as culture, he’s about that. The biggest thing is it’s genuine. It’s not like he’s trying or it comes off fake when he’s being kind to people. That’s just who he is. People will gravitate to him.”
Off the field, Williams has been a leader in the Southern Illinois community. He has participated in several events, including reading to kindergartners at Parrish Elementary School, serving at the Gum Drops Food Bank — where he helped pack bags of food for local students — and dancing with participants at “Night to Shine,” an event put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Williams takes pride in being a present figure at community service events.
“I just want to make sure that everybody sees my face, regardless of whether you don’t know me or if you do know me,” he said. “Giving back to this next generation or giving back to the community, you never know who you might reach. You might meet the next star quarterback at Southern Illinois by going out in the community.
“If you see any community service event that we have that’s put out by our football department, I’m at it. I truly believe a community builds a person, and I truly want to build this community up as much as I can before the NFL.”
Hill believes Williams exemplifies what it means to be a Saluki as well as anyone on campus.
“When you look at him as a premium player and a household name for our community, for our school, for who he is, I think he’s the best we’ve seen in a long time,” Hill said. “He doesn’t miss community services. If there’s a picture out there, DJ’s there. He’s always in the community. He’s actually invested in all of this.”
Williams’ role on and off the field in Southern Illinois has only further strengthened his connection with fans of the Saluki football program. When the quarterback revealed that he was returning to SIU, thousands of supporters across social media interacted with the announcement.
From excitement to joy and even surprise, the news that Williams was returning sparked several emotions throughout the Southern Illinois community. Williams was grateful for the response he received from the football fan base.
“It (seeing excitement from fans) honestly puts chills through my body,” he said. “It makes me want to go out there and be better than I ever could imagine. I want to go out there and put on a show every weekend that they pay their tickets for. That they don’t leave the stadium without knowing they just watched the best player in the country.”
Williams’ return not only generated interest from the Saluki fan base but also benefited the program’s recruiting efforts. The NCAA transfer portal for the FBS and FCS opened on Jan. 2. Three days later, the quarterback announced his return. With the portal open until Jan. 16, Williams was one of SIU’s top recruiters, according to Hill.
“It (Williams returning) was a huge shot in the arm,” Hill said. “He’s always been an elite recruiter for us. When you’re recruiting, you’re selling something. When he’s a part of the weekend and calling them (recruits’ families), there’s not a better recruiter on our staff. Whenever he came back, for me and for everybody, it was a huge boost in momentum.”
The 2026 season will be Williams’ third as a Saluki in a journey that has been full of ups and downs. In 2024, Williams played in just three games before suffering a season-ending injury to his throwing hand against Incarnate Word on Sept. 14. Two years earlier at Murray State, the quarterback tore his ACL in the season opener against Texas Tech.
Despite the injuries and shortened seasons, Williams has overcome adversity to become an All-America and all-conference caliber quarterback.
“I’ve been down and out before,” Williams said. “I’ve come back and stayed down and out. I went 2-9 the year I tore my ACL. I felt like it wasn’t a thing I could accomplish anymore. I felt like I wasn’t that same person. And that comes back to Coach Hill and the confidence he continues to instill in me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. I’m the best player in the country whenever I’m healthy. Going out there and getting that recognition this year just shows me I am who I say I am.”
When looking ahead to the fall, Williams has high expectations for himself and the program.
“I want to be remembered as the greatest team and also the greatest player to walk through here,” Williams said. “I want to be able to change the trajectory of this program, and there’s no better place I’d rather do it than here. I want to win championships after championships, and I want this community to be able to see that.
“We haven’t played past Thanksgiving in the past two years I’ve been here. I want these fans to be able to live out their dreams through us.
“Going to Nashville (location for the national championship), having the whole community see something special like that as we saw with Illinois State. I want Southern Illinois to feel that love and appreciation, and see some great football this year.”
Hill says alumni should be proud to have Williams representing the university.
“For the community, for the alumni, it’s kind of like when Jeremy (Chinn) and some of those guys were here, it’s appreciating who he is as a person,” he said. “They’re representing the school. Being proud, even if you’re from afar, of the type of person representing SIU. Knowing that he’s got his degree from here, he’s going to get a master’s degree from here. He’s a Saluki that everybody should be proud of. And then being excited about the season, making a special trip to come and see him play while he’s here.”
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