Another day, another couple of graduate transfers are officially in the books.
Following up on reports that first gained traction over the weekend, Michigan State announced that defensive tackle Kevin Williams “has signed a valid Big Ten tender” and will join the Spartans for the 2016 football season. The upcoming season will be Williams’ final year of eligibility, and his addition could help ease the attrition the Spartans’ defensive line has ben hit with of late -- provided he can stay healthy, of course.
Williams missed his entire true freshman season in 2011 because of a knee injury, then missed the entire 2013 season because of another knee issue. His healthiest season came in 2014 when he played in 10 games.
This past season, a groin injury helped limit Williams to eight games.
Williams was a three-star member of the Cornhuskers’ 2011 recruiting class, rated as the No. 36 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 22 player at any position in the state of Ohio. In between the injuries, he played in a total of 23 games for the ‘Huskers.
Late this past week, MSU announced that Damon Knox, a projected starter at tackle, had decided to leave the program to pursue a career in law enforcement. Back in April, MSU confirmed that sophomore linemen Craig Evans and Montez Sweat had left the program.
In addition to Williams, Virginia also announced that quarterback Kurt Benkert has joined the Cavaliers. It had been reported late last month that Benkert would be moving on from East Carolina to UVa.
Benkert was named the Pirates’ starter in early August of 2015, but sustained a right knee injury a couple of weeks later that knocked him out for the entire season. In Charlottesville, Benkert will join a competition that includes returning starter Matt Johns and Texas/Arizona transfer Connor Brewer.
Benkert, who will be eligible to play in 2016 as a graduate transfer, will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.