Maryland Football Lands A New Addition Through Rice Basketball Transfer

The Terps found a new linebacker to add to their roster unconventionally. Former Rice guard Jordan Williams makes the switch and joins the program.

Oct 11, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley stands on the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley found another linebacker to add to his room for the 2026-27 roster, and it was unexpected to all. Rice guard Jordan Williams signed with the Terps football program today, making the switch from the hardwood back to the gridiron.

Jordan Williams will be transitioning from basketball to football and joining @TerpsFootball..

Williams (6-2/215) played football through his sophomore year of high school before focusing on basketball, individually. His father, Jermaine Williams played four seasons in the… https://t.co/3I65eHTMUt

— Cʜᴜᴄᴋ ᴅᴏᴜɢʟᴀs ✪ (@ChuckDouglas_) June 3, 2026

Funny enough, when the news first broke, it seemed that Williams was making the move to College Park in hopes of reuniting with Maryland men's basketball head coach Buzz Williams and carving out a role on the team that was looking to change the narrative this upcoming season.

Williams then committed to Texas A&M in 2022, after coming off incredible two-year stretch as a junior to sophomore at Second Baptist high school where he was the TAPPS Class 5A state Player of the Year and First-Team All-State honors as a junior and then District 5-5A MVP honors in 2020-21 after averaging 32.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 3.3 steals per game, leading Second Baptist to the Area Championship and a 22-9 record.

Unfortunately, Williams missed his entire senior season at Second Baptist due to injury. However, he was still ranked as the No. 39 point guard and No. 231 prospect overall basketball recruit according to 247Sports Composite.

Williams redshirted in his freshman season at Texas A&M before transferring to Vanderbilt for the next two seasons, where he appeared in 37 games total and started in 10 of those contests. Last season, he moved to Rice, playing only 13 games, missing 17 due to injury, and averaging two points, 1.6 rebounds, and nearly one assist per contest. His best outing came against Southwestern Christian, where he finished with a career-high 16 points and added four rebounds (12/17).

The move to football may not feel like a crazy one to Williams, who played and starred in football at high school. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Houston native and graduate student will move to the linebacker position and look to earn his mark through the summer, leading into late August when the season begins against Hampton at SECU Stadium.

Williams is no stranger to football, as his father, Jermaine Williams, played running back in the NFL over a five-year career, during which he was undrafted but played for the Raiders (at the time in Oakland), Jaguars, and Chiefs.

Jordan's brother Josh, who played at LSU, is now in the NFL as a running back, like their father, and is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now Jordan joins the Terps linebacker core, led by returning captain Daniel Wingate, who led the team in tackles last season, and his running mate, Trey Reddick. Jordan is the second linebacker to join Maryland through the transfer portal: VMI linebacker Stephen Dean III.

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