OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
6:10 PM – Thursday, November 30, 2023
Utah State Aggies quarterback Levi Williams revealed that he will not be returning for his senior year football season in 2024 because he will be preparing for Navy SEAL training.
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On Monday, Williams, who is currently a junior at Utah State, announced on a radio interview in Salt Lake City that he intends to miss his senior year with the plan of becoming a Navy SEAL officer in 2025.
Williams mentioned that becoming a Navy SEAL was extremely important to him because he would be following in the footsteps of his family members while “protecting this great country.”
“It’s something that took a lot of thought and consideration,” Williams said on KSL 97.5 FM. “I love football and it’s so great, but I knew eventually it was going to come to an end. With the timeline of training and stuff, it just works out perfectly to end it this year.”
“I just want to be in a spot where I can protect this great country where we get to play football with the freedom to do that,” Williams added. “I think this is the best country in the world, so I’d like to keep it that way and protect it as long as I can.”
The Aggies quarterback mentioned that his determination to apply for Navy SEAL training was inspired by his parents and grandparents’ legacies of serving the country.
“It’s always been in my heart my entire life. My mom was in the Army. My grandparents were Army and Navy,” he said. “People in the military are always what I want to emulate, because they’re some of the best people, best teams on the planet.”
Williams additionally said that he is striving for the challenge and is eager to become a SEAL, where he will be able to work in a “team-oriented” environment outside of a football field.
“What I love about their ethos and their motto is that no one guy is better than the other,” Williams stated. “It takes all of them to complete a mission.”
Williams played football from 2019 to 2021 in Wyoming before transferring in the 2021 season when he joined Utah State in 2022. He has appeared in 16 games for the Aggies throughout two seasons.
Following this season, Williams intends to take a SEAL qualifying fitness exam. The exam includes a 500-yard swim, maximum push-ups, pull-ups, and curl-ups performed in separate two-minute intervals, in addition to a 1.5-mile run comprising this demanding test.
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