Oregon safeties Evan Williams, Tysheem Johnson forming strong connection while pushing for starting jobs

At this time last year, more than 2,000 miles separated Evan Williams and Tysheem Johnson.

Williams was 10 days away from kicking off his senior season with Fresno State, where he had already been tabbed as a preseason all-conference selection for the Bulldogs. Johnson, meanwhile, was a week away from being named a starter in the Ole Miss secondary ahead of his sophomore campaign in Oxford.

Neither could have predicted how their respective careers would unfold from that point.

But, after Williams and Johnson both opted to bet on themselves and hit the transfer portal last winter, the pair of veteran defensive backs have emerged among the frontrunners for Oregon’s two starting safety spots. Although they have only been playing together for a few months, Williams and Johnson have quickly established a chemistry that could be key for a Ducks’ secondary that is in search of rapid improvement.

“It’s crazy — me and him have a connection,” Johnson said. “Every play we’re out there talking. If one of us is down one day, the other one brings the energy to get the other person up. We’ve just got a great connection back there; I can’t wait to play with him.”

Williams said that over the past few weeks, he and Johnson have grown more comfortable playing together in a rapidly-evolving secondary that could potentially feature four new starters in 2023.

“The more you feel that chemistry and understand how somebody else is gonna play, the more confident you get to play and the more you get to play full-speed and just do your job,” Williams said. “We’re taking it day by day. I’m learning his techniques, his habits. We’re feeding off each other and making plays for each other.”

Johnson has spent plenty of time this fall at field safety, where he is competing for a starting spot with sixth-year senior Bryan Addison. He is also one of a half-dozen players repping at nickel.

At Ole Miss last season, Johnson, who is listed at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, played 230 snaps at box safety, 217 at nickel, and 141 at free safety.

“One of the things that Tysheem has shown is that he can cover in the slot, which he didn’t have to do a lot at Ole Miss,” Oregon safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Chris Hampton said. “Not because he couldn’t do it, but that wasn’t a lot of what he did in their scheme. He’s shown the ability to be a pretty good slot cover guy. So that just makes us better for him to do that. He can play either safety spot or he can play nickel.”

Williams, who is listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, flashed a similar brand of versatility during his final season at Fresno State. He played 251 snaps at free safety, 196 at box safety, and 91 at nickel for the Bulldogs in 2022.

For Williams, the younger brother of former Oregon standout Bennett Williams, the path to a starting job seems to be a bit more clear. He’s competing for snaps at boundary safety with senior Steve Stephens IV. Both players are expected to feature prominently for the Ducks this season, but Williams appears to be the frontrunner to win the job at this point.

“The focal point of their position, you’re going to ask those guys to play a half-field safety, to play in the box and to cover man-to-man,” Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said earlier this month when asked about Williams and Johnson. “We’re going to bring those guys on pressures as well. Again, it’s an individual that is capable of doing all that. I’m confident that with those guys — along with (Stephens), along with (Addison) — we have a group there that is thriving off each other and competing. I’m excited to see their continued development.”

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