Giovanni Williams is on the verge of turning his football dreams into NFL history. The standout linebacker from Miles College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Alabama, earned a tryout with the New York Jets during rookie minicamp. But this isn’t just any opportunity. If he makes the team, Giovanni would join his older brothers, Quinnen and Quincy Williams, on the Jets’ active roster, making them the first trio of brothers to play on the same NFL team in the modern era.
That’s not a stat you hear every day. The last time three brothers suited up for the same NFL team was nearly a century ago, when the league still had teams like the Duluth Eskimos, Columbus Panhandles, and Dayton Triangles. The Rooneys, Nessers, and Kinderdines may have done it back then, but none of their franchises exist today. If Giovanni sticks, this would be a first for the modern NFL—and it would be an HBCU football player who made it happen.
From Miles to MetLife
Giovanni’s path to the league didn’t follow the standard Power Five hype train. After high school, he took a quieter route to Texas A&M University–Kingsville. He appeared in nine games in the 2021 season, amassing 33 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, and three sacks.
Williams then transferred to Division II HBCU football power Miles College, where he played under head coach Sam Shade, the former NFL safety who suited up for Washington and Cincinnati in the early 2000s. Under Shade’s leadership, Williams was developed into a key cog for the Golden Bears’ defense. In 2024, Williams played in 11 games, recording 29 tackles (11 assists), five for a loss, and one sack. Helping Miles to its best season in school history: a 10-win campaign, a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) title, and the school’s first-ever NCAA Division II playoff win.
It was a massive statement year for the program and its coach, with Shade taking home SIAC Coach of the Year honors. More importantly, it put Giovanni on NFL radars.
The NFL Runs in the Family
The Williams NFL bloodline is no secret. Quinnen Williams, the youngest ever finalist for the Outland Trophy at Alabama, was drafted No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in 2019. He’s since become one of the league’s most dominant interior linemen, racking up 32.5 career sacks and earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2022.
Quincy Williams, a third-round pick by Jacksonville in the same 2019 draft, found his stride after joining the Jets in 2021. Known for his speed and punishing hits, Quincy broke out with a First-Team All-Pro campaign in 2023. Together, the brothers are cornerstones of New York’s stingy defense—and adding Giovanni to that mix would be more than a feel-good story. It could be a nightmare for opposing offenses.
Make My Own Name
Still, Giovanni isn’t riding any coattails, but he’s not too proud to ask for advice from his NFL All-Pro brothers. “Quinnen told me, ‘Be yourself,’ ” he told SNY. “Whatever happens, happens. God already got it for you… Quincy told me he knows the position we play. We play the same position. He told me, ‘Control your mind, control your body. Just have control of yourself, and you can have control of your game.”
“Just because living behind them, making my own name, I had to still live behind them, but it’s sweet because me and my brother play the same position. I can call on him for help and we got the same competition level, so it’s gonna be like competition, just like always, just like we’re back home, a big competition.”
He also joked with the New York media that he used to weigh 350 pounds in high school and still played linebacker before eventually dropping to his current playing weight of around 220 pounds. In typical sibling fashion, Quinnen and Quincy used to pick on him for being big, but they were always impressed with his speed.
“Honestly, I’m in the middle. So I got Quincy’s speed, but I got Quinnen’s build. So it’s like I’m in the middle of both of them, everybody compares me as the hybrid of both,” Williams said. “I have my own dreams, my own story,” Williams said. “I just didn’t want to follow behind Quincy and Quinnen, I want to make my own name.”
A Moment in the Making
If Giovanni Williams makes the New York Jets final roster, it won’t just be a personal triumph or even a family one—it would be a milestone for the NFL and a shining moment for HBCU football. From Miles College to MetLife Stadium, this story is bigger than football. It’s about legacy, determination, and rewriting history—one snap at a time.
