Kevon Williams’ journey to the Olympics in rugby

Kevon Williams owes more to rugby than his average peer at Paris Olympics.

Without rugby, he likely wouldn’t have his college degree.

After finishing his football career at New Mexico Highlands, a Division II school, as a four-time All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference receiver, Williams turned his focus to providing for his wife and two young children. After switching his major to computer science, he was faced with being a fifth-year senior with an extended path to graduation.

But after trying rugby for the first time with the New Mexico Highlands club team, Williams found a new motivation to stay in school — and in the process discovered an unexpected path to stardom.

“Had it not been for rugby, I wouldn’t have gotten a degree,” admitted Williams, who helped lead Team USA out of group play for the second straight Olympics. “I graduated with a degree in computer science. But if it hadn’t been for (rugby), I’d be a couple credits away from university studies.”

Instead, rugby provided so much more.

Williams initially dreamed of a professional football career. That dream remained out of reach despite his four all-conference seasons and a senior year in which he had 945 receiving yards and six touchdowns, but football still provided a training ground for his new path.

Rugby sevens demands a blend of speed, strength and agility — skills Williams spent years developing while racing past would-be defenders to catch passes and dodge tackles. Williams also learned to read defenses, spot weaknesses and burst through for scores, all transferrable skills in his new sport.

So even though he never touched a rugby ball until he was 22, the now 33-year-old Williams rose in the sport quickly. He made the national team in 2016, was named team captain after leading the U.S. to a sixth-place finish at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and helped the Eagles end juggernaut South Africa’s historic 36-game winning streak a year later.

Now, because of rugby, Williams has a degree in hand and is among the U.S. greats in the sport as one of the few American players in history to compete in more than 50 international matches.