Charles Williams Signed With Wyoming After the Coach Left

Charles Williams signed with Wyoming 15 days after the coach who recruited him announced his retirement. The Marin Catholic two-way star had just won a state title. He never played a snap in Laramie, then committed to Georgetown.

That path, from a 38-18 night in Torrance to a Patriot League roster spot, is the full record of the 2023 recruiting bet, not the highlight clip that closed his high school career.

A 38-18 Night in Torrance

On December 9, 2023, Marin Catholic scored on six of its first seven first-half possessions and beat Mayfair 38-18 in the CIF State Division 3-A championship at El Camino College. The Wildcats finished 14-1. It was their second state title in three seasons.

Williams set the field position and then finished drives. He returned punts across midfield to set up the first two scores, then closed the night with 288 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in his last high school game.

Quarterback Peter Macaulay went 13 of 24 for 328 yards and three touchdown passes and added a 21-yard scoring run on the first snap. A week earlier, in a 35-28 regional win over McClymonds, Williams had rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes.

TITLE WEEKEND FOR WILLIAMS

Those four interceptions in two weeks pushed his senior total to a school-record 11. Head coach Mazi Moayed called him perhaps the best all-around player he had coached in the Bay Area, and still pointed first at the way Williams carried himself.

On Defense, Moayed Saw It First

Williams played running back, receiver, and cornerback, and returned kicks. He rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and scored 30 touchdowns as a senior. He also decided, late, that defense was the job he wanted to keep.

“When I was a sophomore, I thought for sure I’d be a running back. But I think my future is on defense and coach saw it before I did,” Williams said after he signed. Three of his interceptions came back for touchdowns. He still talked about scores as a group result. “Every touchdown is a team accomplishment,” he said. “Everyone who threw a block or carried out an assignment is part of it.”

Moayed told recruiters the same thing in plainer language. “He’s an amazing player and completely selfless kid, a true team player,” the coach said. “Never once in the entire time he was here did he ask for more touches or more attention. He just produced in every way imaginable.”

Williams credited his father for the tone. “He always told me to be humble and be myself.” That low-key pitch was part of the sale to college staffs that were already splitting him by position.

Wyoming Signed Him After Bohl Stepped Away

Craig Bohl announced he was retiring after 10 seasons on December 6, 2023, three days before the state final. Defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel was named the next head coach the same day. Bohl’s last game would be the Arizona Bowl on December 30 against Toledo. Wyoming was 8-4 and headed to a third straight bowl. Bohl’s Wyoming record sat at 60-60. The same release noted he had developed Josh Allen, the highest NFL draft pick in school history.

Williams had already taken an official visit to Laramie in late September, his second trip there. Gordie Haug, then Wyoming’s recruiting coordinator, was the main contact and wanted him at cornerback. San Diego State had him as a safety. San Jose State saw an athlete. Oregon State was recruiting him on offense. He also held offers from Fresno State.

He had said he wanted to decide about a month after the season. He signed 12 days after the title game. On December 21 he confirmed he had sent the letter.

I’m all signed up and sent it to them today. I’m looking forward to it 100 percent. It has a real family feel there. It’s a long way from home but I gotta grow up sometime. I can’t wait to build my own path.

Charles Williams, on signing with Wyoming, December 21, 2023

Wyoming’s board listed him as a 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from Sausalito and Marin Catholic, a three-star recruit ranked No. 230 in California by 247Sports. Haug, on signing day, called him “an unbelievably bright kid, football-IQ wise,” and said he fit what Wyoming wanted. Sawvel, taking over the class, said the staff had kept nearly all of its commitments through the handoff from Bohl.

FROM TITLE WEEK TO THE LETTER

1. December 6, 2023: Bohl retires. Sawvel is named Wyoming’s next head coach.
2. December 9, 2023: Marin Catholic beats Mayfair 38-18 for the Division 3-A state title.
3. December 20-21, 2023: Williams commits and signs with Wyoming during the early period.
4. December 30, 2023: Wyoming beats Toledo 16-15 in the Arizona Bowl, Bohl’s last game.
5. August 2, 2024: Williams enrolls in Laramie.
6. April 12-16, 2025: He announces he is entering the transfer portal.
7. May 24, 2025: He commits to Georgetown.

The Cowboys posted a welcome the day he signed.

Beautiful.
Adventure.
Challenge. @isochuck24 • #LA24DISE pic.twitter.com/eeFEM1nsRt

— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) December 20, 2023

Zero Snaps, Four Years Left

Williams spent the 2024 season on Wyoming’s roster as a freshman cornerback and did not record a statistic. Public game logs list him with zero games in 2024, zero tackles, and zero interceptions. He later described himself as a redshirt freshman with four years of eligibility remaining.

THE LARAMIE LINE

• 2024 games: 0, with no tackles or interceptions in published FBS logs.
• Jersey in camp photos: No. 11, including a November 30, 2024, trip to Washington State.
• His words in April 2025: redshirt freshman, four years left, two-time state champion.
• Portal company: the fourth known Cowboy to leave that April, after running back Harrison Waylee, nickel Wrook Brown, and edge rusher Sabastian Harsh.

A photo from that Washington State game shows him in uniform on the sideline. Playing time is a different fact. The snaps never showed up in the book. For a player who had just finished a two-way title run, the year in Laramie was a hold, not a debut.

Leaving Laramie for the Patriot League

After a spring scrimmage inside War Memorial Stadium, Williams posted that he was opening his recruitment again. He put the senior film back in circulation, listed the high school awards, and wrote that he still had four years to play.

I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal with four years of eligibility remaining. Thank you everyone for the support and being a part of my journey. Excited for what’s next.

Charles Williams, transfer portal post, April 2025

The next day he wrote that Delaware State had offered him after a conversation with DeSean Jackson. A redshirted three-star who never played has to go back on the market with the same tape that got him to Laramie, plus a list of prep honors. That is the portal’s actual work, not a secret league. Georgetown closed it about five weeks later.

On May 24, 2025, Williams posted his commit to the Hoyas and tagged the Georgetown staff, including Rob Sgarlata’s account.

Thank you to all the coaches and support that help me through is process#Committed #Gohoyas @CoachPurk @CoachAmoako @coachsgarlata pic.twitter.com/FKtwIXmWIS

— CharlesWilliams (@isochuck24) May 24, 2025

Georgetown listed him in 2025 as No. 26, a defensive back from Marin City and Marin Catholic, at 6-foot and 175 pounds. The Hoyas went 6-6 and 3-4 in the Patriot League. Williams did not appear among the published defensive leaders that season, a group that ran down through players with about 19 tackles. Through three games of 2026, dated September 5 against Lehigh, September 19 against Richmond, and September 26 against Columbia, he is still absent from the 2026 defensive leaderboards. CBS Sports listed him as a sophomore defensive back in April 2026.

He has not posted about football on his account since the May 24 commit. The public record of the move stops on that day. The roster line is what continued.

Where Did the Other Wildcats Land?

Williams was the FBS name from that title roster. The rest of the senior core signed in a different market, mostly small-campus football in the East, with one stop in the Big Sky’s shadow at UC Davis.

THE 2023 TITLE CLASS, MAPPED

• Peter Macaulay: The championship quarterback committed to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
• Zach Taylor: The safety with 10 tackles in the state final also committed to Bowdoin, as an inside linebacker.
• Mario Crocitto: The edge rusher who had 11 tackles and three sacks in the regional title game signed with Tufts. He had 24.5 sacks as a senior.
• Greer Arthur: The receiver joined a Marin Catholic pipeline at UC Davis.
• Ricky Kampmann: An offensive lineman signed with Denison.

Four of those letters came in on one February afternoon in 2024, bringing the state champions to six college signings with more still pending. Williams had already been in Laramie’s class for two months. The teammates’ college choices after the title split along a simple line. One player took the Mountain West scholarship. The others took campuses that sold school first.

Wyoming got the signature it wanted from a two-way Bay Area champion, then never used him. Georgetown got a redshirt corner with four years on the clock and a state-title tape. The 38-18 night in Torrance still sits at the top of the file. The college page under it is a portal stamp and a Patriot League number, not a Wyoming box score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Marin Catholic Win a State Title Before 2023?

Yes. The Wildcats won a CIF Division 4-AA state title during Williams’s sophomore season, and his four varsity teams went 46-3, including a 5-0 pandemic-shortened freshman year. The 2023 Division 3-A crown was the second state trophy of his high school career.

Which Colleges Offered Charles Williams Besides Wyoming?

Oregon State, Fresno State, San Jose State, and San Diego State offered him. San Diego State recruited him as a safety, San Jose State as an athlete, and Oregon State on offense, while Wyoming wanted him at cornerback. He had also heard from Utah, Utah State, Montana, Cal, and Nevada before he signed.

What Honors Did Williams Win After the 2023 Season?

He posted in January 2024 that he had been named Sports Stars NorCal Player of the Year. In February 2024, while he was still in Marin Catholic’s basketball postseason, West Coast Preps named him athlete of the week. He was already signed to Wyoming when those honors landed.

How Productive Was Williams as a Junior?

As a junior he was named offensive player of the year in Marin County, with more than 1,600 all-purpose yards and 31 touchdowns, and he earned second-team all-state. That was the year before he shifted his recruiting toward cornerback.