It’s safe to say that Chette Williams’ career at Auburn University did not get off to a glorious start.
But God used those difficult days to bring Williams — and countless others at Auburn through the years — to Him.
“We would pray for Chette at FCA because his attitude was so bad,” said John Gibbons, an Auburn graduate assistant during Williams’ freshman season. “He was becoming toxic to the team, and sure enough, Coach (Pat) Dye released him from the team.”
But Tigers running back Kyle Collins, who was also the president of Auburn’s FCA Huddle, continued sharing God’s love with Williams and told Williams to let him know if Williams ever needed anything. According to Gibbons, Williams trusted in Christ the same night he was booted off the team.
“It wasn’t a jailhouse conversion,” Gibbons said. “It was a true, dynamic change in his life.”
Williams asked Dye for a second chance the next day, telling him, “I’ve just accepted Jesus as my Savior, and I’m a different man.” Dye obliged, and Williams went on to make a mark at Auburn that few have — or will — eclipse.
Williams was indeed a different man, remaining so until he passed away in an accident at Lake Martin in December 2024.
Building a Legacy Through Ministry
In the years following those early encounters with Williams, Gibbons became FCA’s State Director in Alabama. Today, he is a Multi-Area Director for FCA in Central Alabama. He and Williams had remained friends through the years, and Gibbons often had Williams, who earned a seminary degree and later pastored two churches after graduating from Auburn, speak at FCA Camps and other events.
When Tommy Tuberville became the Tigers’ head coach in 1999, he told Gibbons he wanted a full-time FCA chaplain for his team. Gibbons immediately told Tuberville that Chette Williams was the man he needed. Soon, Tuberville and Gibbons were raising money to fund Williams’ position. During this process, they met enough difference-makers to start FCA boards throughout Alabama.
Just as importantly, as people across the state got to know Williams, they wanted others to encounter the same God that transformed “Brother Chette.”
“Overnight, we grew from 11 staff members to 65, and from 400 Huddles to 800,” Gibbons said. “Everybody wanted FCA [in their community] because of the impact they saw through him at Auburn.”
According to Gibbons, the feeling was mutual. “He loved his brothers and sisters in Christ that were on staff in Alabama — and everywhere. He would do anything to help them grow the ministry.”
That love for ministry growth so more people can know and follow Jesus led to Williams and Alabama FCA launching a chaplain training program, which has trained and placed chaplains at schools nationwide. Gibbons said Williams’ desire to prepare, engage, empower and equip people for ministry is a part of his legacy.
And so was his willingness to be there for someone when they needed him the most.
“God's anointing upon him was that he would run to tragedy,” Gibbons said. “A player's mom died, an aunt died, Grandma had cancer — any tragedy — he would drop what he was doing to go minister to that person. And he would be the first one there.”
Changing Lives On and Off the Field
Williams will probably be most remembered for the impact God made through him on his family and the young men, coaches and families he served every day at Auburn. His legacy lives on through them, and they are quick to share Brother Chette’s impact.
“In this world we live in, a lot of people know us with our helmets on,” said former Auburn and National Football League quarterback Jason Campbell at Williams’ funeral. “Brother Chette got to know us with our helmets off. He got to know the true us. He cared about us and where we were going in life.
“If you weren’t on the right path, he wasn’t scared to pull you aside and say, ‘Hey, brother, let me talk to you a little bit.’ He would always give you a Scripture. He would tell you to read it and then say, ‘Come back and tell me what you thought about that.’”
Multiple players shared stories of the Williams-led Friday night chapel services before Saturday games. Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams, who played and coached at Auburn, was one of the people who fondly recalled those moments.
“We’d see coaches and players be vulnerable,” he said in a video tribute played at Chette Williams's funeral. “We’d pray for each other. We’d see coaches and players give their lives to Christ on Friday night. It was an awesome thing to see, and it brought us so much closer. That was all because of Brother Chette and the foundation he laid.”
“Guys just poured their hearts out about life,” Campbell said about those Friday night chapels. “It wasn’t about football. It wasn’t about being first-string, second-string, third-string. God doesn’t look at us that way. We are all one string. And that’s how Brother Chette was with us. Guys would talk about heartfelt things that challenged them. Brother Chette always said that things that challenge you will change you. But you have to be willing to go through it.”
Inspiring Generations to Live Boldy for Christ
Many highly recruited players chose to go through it at Auburn partially because of the love they saw from Williams and the coaching staff. One of those players was defensive lineman Mike Blanc, who now serves as FCA’s Executive Vice President of Pro and Elite Sports and is a chaplain who makes a similar impact on student-athletes that Williams made on him.
“I met Chette on my recruiting visit to Auburn,” Blanc, who played on Auburn’s undefeated national championship team in 2010 and later played in the NFL, said in the tribute video during Williams' funeral. “Chette was a big reason I chose Auburn University. Who would know that years later, when I got done playing football, Chette would also become the reason I came on staff for FCA? For the past 10 years, I’ve served as the chaplain for the football team at the University of Miami, impacting hundreds of coaches and athletes all because of Chette Williams and his impact, love and direction.
Williams’ influence extended far beyond the individual lives he touched. His ability to pour into others, like encouraging decisions that shaped Blanc’s path, reflects the heart of his ministry. He wasn’t just a mentor; he was a multiplier, inspiring those he led to carry his mission forward. Through each conversation, prayer and moment of guidance, Chette laid the foundation for others to share Christ and impact lives in ways they may never have imagined.
This ripple effect defined his legacy within the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. While his reach began with personal connections, it grew to encompass thousands through his work at Auburn and beyond. Chette’s passion set a new benchmark in chaplaincy, where his faith touched not only individuals like Blanc, but entire teams, programs and communities. His life became a testament to the power of living boldly for Christ, one life-changing relationship at a time.
“Chette became the standard-bearer for FCA in chaplaincy and collegiate ministry,” said FCA President and CEO Shane Williamson. “The eternities and the daily lives of thousands of coaches and athletes who have passed through Auburn are forever changed through Chette sharing and living out Christ with them.
“No one in the history of FCA has demonstrated the combination of a deep love for Jesus, his family and the faithfulness to stay the course through the extreme highs and lows of life and ministry than Chette. He was a great friend and example to me. He will be sorely missed.”
It may not have been a glorious beginning for Chette Williams at Auburn, but the work that God did in and through him ensures that generations of people will know God’s love and hope. And there’s nothing more glorious than that. Well done, good and faithful servant!
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Photos courtesy of Auburn Athletics and FCA