July 28, 2017
By Reed Shiver
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Tre' Williams became an Auburn man despite a childhood spent rooting for the Miami Hurricanes in a family filled with Alabama fans.
For Williams, who grew up in Mobile and was the career tackle leader at St. Paul's Episcopal School, where he was also the Class 5A state basketball player of the year and the state shot put champion, his visits to Auburn created the feeling of a home away from home.
Williams' first connection to Auburn came through his uncle, Terrence Vaughn, who was friends with former Auburn quarterback and assistant coach Dameyune Craig.
"He was really close to my family so I felt comfortable around him and every time I visited Auburn I felt comfortable, I felt at home," Williams recalls. "Just how my family interacted around here at Auburn, they really loved it. And it's close to home, so it was the perfect place."
Williams has been a significant contributor every year at Auburn, with increasing responsibility each season. He has played in 36 games at linebacker, starting 12, while amassing 138 tackles in three years. Williams recorded 67 tackles last season, second best on the squad.
As a senior in 2017, Williams recognizes how his role has changed since his arrival in the summer of 2014. "Now, I have young guys listening to me and trying to follow me," Tre' says. "They put me on a pedestal and I have to do my job with focus every day, every rep, every game, because people are watching me."
After all those games in a Tiger uniform, Williams remembers something special about his early times at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Freshman year, when I started against LSU here at Auburn, and seeing my name and my face pop up, that was a very special moment to me and my family," he says.
The 2017 season will be the first during Williams' career that Auburn has had a returning defensive coordinator, as Kevin Steele begins his second campaign.
"It makes a big difference," Williams says. "You can tell our team has a lot more confidence. We already know his defense, so now all you have to do is go out and execute everything, and work on everything you didn't do as well last season."
Williams, a member of the Lott IMPACT trophy watch list, has high goals for himself. "We haven't had an all-SEC linebacker since Travis Williams in 2004," Williams says. "I'm really trying to get there. There are still some things that I can start trends for; it's just a matter of me working and improving."
As tough as the SEC is top to bottom, Williams knows he and his teammates have been prepared for anything by playing in such a competitive conference.
"There are still a lot of things I have to work on, of course, but our coaches have really done their job, and I have to keep listening to them and doing what they say. Every coach I've had really has taken me to that next level to prepare me. Now I want them to see that their instruction and confidence in me is paying off."
Williams, a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and an Academic Top Tiger, plans to graduate this December with a degree in communications and have a future in the NFL, but he is still going to miss Auburn and the friendships he has made here.
"My teammates, just playing with those guys," Williams says. "We've built relationships for four years and we've gotten closer and closer each year. I'm really going to miss that."
Reed Shiver is a student assistant in Auburn Athletics Communications