Ole Miss linebacker Sam Williams rejoins team after sexual assault charges dropped
Published 11:59 am Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Sam Williams is set to rejoin Ole Miss this week after sexual assault charges against were dropped.
According to a report by Al.com, Williams sexual battery case was dismissed earlier this week. Williams was arrested on July 25 and immediately suspended from all team activities.
On Tuesday, Ole Miss provided an update on Williams’ status with the team.
“With no pending charges, Sam Williams has returned to football activities,” Ole Miss’ statement read. “We defer to his legal counsel on questions regarding his case.”
During his media availability on Tuesday, head coach Lane Kiffin hinted that Williams could return to the practice field as early as Wednesday.
Despite not being with the team for over a month, Kiffin said the linebacker had been staying in shape on his own in hopes of returning for the 2020 season.
“To my knowledge, Sam had been working out,” Kiffin said. “He’d not been working out with us because he was separated from all team activities. But we did see him a little bit. We worked him in yesterday. Obviously he’s got a ways to go but you can see flashes of why he’s shown to be a really good player at times.”
The Montgomery, Ala. native led the Rebels with six sacks in 2019. Williams recorded 37 tackles with 9.5 of them tackles for a loss as well hurrying the quarterback five times.
Williams will provide depth on a defensive unit that was not returning any other defensive linemen from last year’s team before he was reinstated.