Former Auburn defensive tackle Marcus Harris got to know him as an analyst, but since he won’t get Vontrell King-Williams as his defensive line coach, Harris called his brother Malik Blocton on Tuesday.

Blocton, a freshman defensive tackle at Auburn, went through his first spring practice with King-Williams, and quickly got a good review.

“He loves the new coaching staff, especially with Coach Vontrell stepped in for Coach Garrett,” Harris told AL.com at the NFL Combine on Wednesday. “He feels like it’s not a step off of Coach Garrett. He loves him. I just called him last night asking him how his first fall practice was. He said it went great. I can’t wait to see him shine this season.”

Auburn promoted King-Williams to be its new defensive tackles coach on Feb. 9. He took the place of Jeremy Garrett, who left his defensive line job at Auburn for the same role with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“When I sat down and interviewed him, the thing that stood out right away was his confidence and his attention to detail,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told AL.com about Garrett on Tuesday. “That’s who I am as a coach. You pay attention to the little things. That’s what drew me to him, allowed me to hire him and get him on staff.”

After Garrett’s departure, Auburn’s staff shifted including King-Williams’ promotion, linebackers coach Josh Aldridge moving to coach the edge rushers and new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin given charge of the inside linebackers.

Yet with so many new faces entering Auburn’s coaching staff this year, Harris said King-Williams’ promotion was a welcome piece of continuity.

“He’s a great coach,” Harris said Wednesday. “Great energy. Great leader. Just the best coach, I feel like, for the job because a lot of players knew him, a lot of players respected him and he was a great coach while I was there.”

King-Williams was an analyst with Auburn in 2023. He followed head coach Hugh Freeze to Auburn after coaching under him at Liberty.

“I was happy because a lot of coaches don’t get the opportunity to be an assistant,” Harris said. “I was just happy for him because he most definitely put in that work for it. Players respect him for that.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]