USC defensive backs coach Donte Williams stepped down from his post on Saturday. In a message shared on social media, he thanked former USC head coach Clay Helton, current head coach Lincoln Riley, and several others for his four years in Los Angeles.

“When one chapter closes, another one begins,” he wrote.

According to 247Sports’ Matt Zentiz, Williams is moving to Georgia to coach defensive backs for Kirby Smart.

To replace him on the Trojans’ staff, according to Zenitz, USC is hiring former Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk. A Broyles Award semifinalist in 2021, Belk was not retained by Houston during the recent coaching transition.

Belk got his coaching start as a defensive assistant and then as a secondary coach at Valdosta State in 2011. He spent three seasons there before serving as a grad assistant at Alabama from 2014-16.

In 2017, he was hired by Dana Holgorsen to be the corners coach at West Virginia. Belk spent two seasons with the Mountaineers before following Holgorsen to Houston in 2019. He was the safeties coach and co-DC at Houston during his first two seasons.

In 2021, he was the Cougars’ sole coordinator. That season, Houston ranked 19th in scoring defense, allowing just 20.4 points a game. The Cougars had the 14th-ranked overall defense (4.9 yards per play allowed), the 15th-ranked run defense (3.4 yards per carry), and the 22nd-ranked pass defense (6.6 yards per pass).

That group produced 43 sacks (sixth nationally) and 98 tackles for loss in 14 games. Houston also had 22 takeaways.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, Houston defensive end Payton Turner was a first-round selection by the New Orleans Saints. A year later, defensive lineman Logan Hall was a second-round pick. Houston has also seen three defensive backs drafted in the last two years.

Williams served as the USC defensive backs coach under Helton and was retained by Riley when he took over before the 2022 season. His reputation as a recruiter was second to none.

But with D’Anton Lynn taking over as the Trojans’ new defensive coordinator, Riley said recently the goal was to assemble the best defensive staff in the country when asked if more staff changes were coming. In pursuit of that goal, USC has also hired North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz to serve as the program’s new linebackers coach.