Miami Transfer Safety Markeith Williams Making an Early Impact at Oklahoma State

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STILLWATER — There’s a name that keeps popping up who wasn’t in Stillwater this spring.

Markeith Williams transferred to Oklahoma State shortly before fall camp. Listed as a 6-foot-2, 175-pound safety, Williams spent the past four seasons at Miami, playing in 28 games in that time before leaving the team early last season.

OSU coach Eric Morris noted Williams at OSU’s Media Day last weekend, and after the Cowboys’ Thursday practice, defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity listed Williams as one of five guys competing for snaps at safety alongside Quinton Hammonds (North Texas), Mose Phillips III (Missouri), Evan Jackson (North Texas) and Vincent Holmes (Washington). Cassity also noted that Christian Bodnar (Liberty) and the returning Cameron Epps are getting work at nickel.

“He’s done a great job,” Cassity said of Williams. “He’s trying to pick up the playbook, obviously. The other guys have probably taken hundreds of reps more than he has (since he wasn’t at OSU in the spring), but he has a skillset. He’s played a lot of football. He’s an older guy. He understands what it takes to be successful at this level. Has a lot of confidence in playing man-to-man coverage on slot receivers, which is something you have to do to be successful and live in this league. I think he’s doing a good job of that.

“He’s just continuing to pick it up and get mental reps and make mistakes and learn from them and get better every day. Think he’s doing a good job right now.”

Reacts 99 overall @MarkeithWilli10 #GoPokes | @OkFordDealers pic.twitter.com/Df519MhegN

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 6, 2026

Out of Evans High School in Orlando, Williams was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. 247Sports tabbed him as the No. 246 player in his class, making him a Top 20 safety. He committed to Miami over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, OU and others.

He took part in four games as a true freshman in 2022 while redshirting, making three tackles.

Williams played 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2023, finishing the year with 15 tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He made eight of those tackles in the Hurricanes’ bowl game against Rutgers.

He then played in all 13 of Miami’s games in 2024, makings his first career start. He finished the year with 13 tackles and a PBU.

“So Markeith is probably getting the most playing time right now (among guys who arrived before fall camp),” Morris said at Media Day. “And a guy that’s kind of shown he can make some plays for us. Played quite a bit at Miami. When he got here, a little bit undersized. Didn’t know if he was gonna play, so he needed to put on some weight. He was a little skinny. He’s done a nice job, I think he’s gained 12 or 13 pounds right now. He’s gotta gain five or six more pounds just so his body can hold up.”

Here’s a quick look at the other four guys Cassity noted competing for reps at safety:

Hammonds (Jr., 6-1, 206): Made 105 combined tackles the past two seasons at North Texas, including 6.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Also intercepted three passes and was credited with four pass breakups. Played in 25 total games, making 15 starts.

Phillips (Sr., 6-2, 196): Spent the 2025 season at Mizzou after playing two years at Virginia Tech. He has 36 games of experience under his belt, including 13 starts. Has 97 career tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and four pass breakups.

Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 188): A product of the heralded North Shore High School, Jackson played in all 39 games of North Texas’ past three seasons, making 13 total starts. Has 130 career tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, six interceptions and seven pass breakups.

Holmes (R-Jr., 6-0, 192): Holmes spent the past three seasons at Washington, playing in 29 games. He played in all of Washington’s games last season as a redshirt sophomore, making one start. Has 11 career tackles.