After rattling off three straight wins to kick off the 2024 season, UNLV appeared primed to challenge for a College Football Playoff berth. However, QB Matthew Sluka announced he would redshirt the rest of the season, thrusting Hajj-Malik Williams into the starting lineup. Who is the former backup, and what can the Rebels expect from him under center?
Who Is Hajj-Malik Williams?
Williams played high school football at Hapeville Charter in Atlanta, where he earned first-team all-region honors as a senior. Campbell was one of the only teams to recruit him, so he opted to attend U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School for a year after graduation.
Once out, Wiliams met with Camels head coach Mike Minter and ultimately signed with the program over a late surge from Georgia Tech. After Campbell started the 2019 season 0-4, Williams took over under center and immediately turned the season around, going 6-1 as a starter.
He did so by becoming only the second Campbell QB to throw for over 2,000 yards (2,042) in a season, leading the team with 664 rushing yards and totaling 26 touchdowns (17 passing, nine rushing).
With the third most total yards (2,686) in the Big South, Williams’ path to the conference’s Offensive Freshman of the Year was guaranteed.
The pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign saw Williams and the Camels fall back down to Earth, as they went 0-4. The 2021 season wasn’t any kinder, as Williams struggled with injury, only playing in four games.
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Williams bounced back over the next two years, resetting the school record for passing yards in each season. But he saved his best for last, posting career-highs in yards (2,597), completions (231), attempts (328), touchdowns (19), and completion rate (70%) in 11 games as a senior.
After the season, Williams felt he’d done all he could at Campbell as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards (8,326) and passing TDs (58). With a bachelor’s degree in hand, he entered the portal as a grad transfer and received multiple offers. But one stood above the rest: UNLV.
The program was in need of a new starting QB, with Jayden Maiava off to USC, so they took fliers on Holy Cross’ Sluka and Campbell’s Williams.
“Once we learned that Jayden (Maiava) was going to USC, we just went all in on every QB that was in the portal that we thought fit what we’re doing,” Rebels head coach Barry Odom told CBS Sports.
“There was some concern that, OK, we ended up taking two guys with Sluka and then Hajj-Malik Williams, who was a great player at Campbell, and then, you know, it’s hard to keep two QBs on a roster that aren’t starting, much less three, and we had a backup from last year, Cam Friel, that stayed in the program. And so it was a three-way battle, really, for who was going to start.
“I think we’ve got three QBs that we can win with, and that’s really, really unique and valuable for us.”
Williams has played in two games this season, rushing for 88 yards on 10 carries with zero pass attempts. Now, with him stepping into the spotlight, UNLV’s hopes for a playoff run rest on his shoulders as the Rebels look to keep their dream season alive.
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