Williams was originally recruited by University of Hawaii coaches and offered a scholarship to play for the Hawaii Warriors football team after a Warriors scout saw him play during the Australian National Championships.
He verbally committed to play for Hawaii when he was 16 years old; however, the NCAA clearing house said he was missing a mathematics and an English class and would not be able to enroll for the 2009 season.
Williams later chose to enroll at Arizona Western College, after coaches saw him play in an exhibition against New Zealand while they were teaching at a football clinic.
At the time, Williams was the first Indigenous Australian to receive a scholarship to play college football in the United States.
At Western, Williams developed into one of the highest rated recruits out of junior college for the 2011 class.
After receiving scholarship offers to play from over 25 schools, Williams enrolled in the University of Alabama for the spring 2011 semester, and began practice with coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

Williams started all 13 games of the 2011 season with the Crimson Tide at defensive end, and he made 24 total tackles and half of a quarterback sack during the course of the year.
During the offseason, Williams gained a degree of internet fame when images of him bench pressing 600 pounds (270 kg) were posted to his Twitter account.

Prior to the start of the 2012 season, Williams was named to the preseason award watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Lombardi Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Outland Trophy.
He was also named to the ESPN.com Preseason All-America Team at nose tackle.

For the 2012 regular season, Williams was a starter for Alabama as the nose guard in 13 of the 14 games, and he made 37 total tackles, one quarterback sack and blocked a kick during the course of the year.
In their 41–14 victory over the Michigan Wolverines to open the 2012 season, Williams suffered a concussion that kept him out of Alabama's week two matchup against WKU.
He returned to the starting line-up for their week three game against Arkansas.
In their 52–0 victory over the Razorbacks, Williams also played on offence for the first time in his Crimson Tide career when he lined up at the fullback position late in the second quarter on a one-yard Eddie Lacy touchdown run.
In the SEC Championship game against Georgia he blocked for an Eddie Lacy touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter after sitting out the third quarter with a knee injury.
After the season, the AP named Williams to the AP All-SEC Second Team.
Williams was originally recruited by University of Hawaii coaches and offered a scholarship to play for the Hawaii Warriors football team after a Warriors scout saw him play during the Australian National Championships. He verbally committed to play for Hawaii when he was 16 years old; however, the NCAA clearing house said he was missing a mathematics and an English class and would not be able to enroll for the 2009 season. Williams later chose to enroll at Arizona Western College, after coaches saw him play in an exhibition against New Zealand while they were teaching at a football clinic. At the time, Williams was the first Indigenous Australian to receive a scholarship to play college football in the United States. At Western, Williams developed into one of the highest rated recruits out of junior college for the 2011 class. After receiving scholarship offers to play from over 25 schools, Williams enrolled in the University of Alabama for the spring 2011 semester, and began practice with coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
Williams started all 13 games of the 2011 season with the Crimson Tide at defensive end, and he made 24 total tackles and half of a quarterback sack during the course of the year. During the offseason, Williams gained a degree of internet fame when images of him bench pressing 600 pounds (270 kg) were posted to his Twitter account.
Prior to the start of the 2012 season, Williams was named to the preseason award watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Lombardi Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Outland Trophy. He was also named to the ESPN.com Preseason All-America Team at nose tackle.
For the 2012 regular season, Williams was a starter for Alabama as the nose guard in 13 of the 14 games, and he made 37 total tackles, one quarterback sack and blocked a kick during the course of the year. In their 41–14 victory over the Michigan Wolverines to open the 2012 season, Williams suffered a concussion that kept him out of Alabama's week two matchup against WKU. He returned to the starting line-up for their week three game against Arkansas. In their 52–0 victory over the Razorbacks, Williams also played on offence for the first time in his Crimson Tide career when he lined up at the fullback position late in the second quarter on a one-yard Eddie Lacy touchdown run. In the SEC Championship game against Georgia he blocked for an Eddie Lacy touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter after sitting out the third quarter with a knee injury. After the season, the AP named Williams to the AP All-SEC Second Team.
Jesse Williams (American football)