July 31 – On the eve of the first day of preseason practices, former Ohio State football captain Kourt Williams announced that he has stopped playing football.
“Four knee surgeries and three shoulder surgeries,” he wrote on social media. “In these five years, there has been a lot of light and a lot of darkness… but I wouldn’t change anything.
“It’s been a long time coming and it’s time to move on.”
Williams was one of the last active members of Ohio State’s 2020 recruiting class.
He was a four-star safety recruit out of St. John Bosco Prep in Harbor City, California, but limited to 17 games as a result of several serious injuries.
Eleven of those came in 2021, when he made 28 tackles, including four for loss, and started Ohio State’s win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Despite it all, several members of the coaching staff had nothing but praise for Williams for his no-nonsense demeanor and work ethic, and players showed similar respect for him by voting him captain in 2022, when he played in six games and recorded four tackles.
At 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, he played both linebacker and safety at Ohio State as the defensive system changed several times during his tenure.
He did not play last season and was not expected to be on the depth chart at linebacker or safety this fall after missing spring practice while recovering from a knee injury suffered last season.
Williams was a three-time Ohio State scholarship athlete, earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition twice and graduated with a degree in communications in the spring of 2023.
