On Dec. 11, 2021, Connor Williams, then a 7-foot 360-pound freshman center for Division III St. John Fisher University, rolled his ankle and crumpled to the floor in the second half an exhibition game against the University of Buffalo. Grimacing, he slowly got back on his feet, hobbled to the top of the key, caught a pass from a teammate and fired a dart down low to 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Daniel Cook, who flushed it home. It should have been a forgotten moment during a meaningless game, which the Cardinals would go on to lose 100-58. But by the time Williams got home, he realized he had gone big-time.
“I was talking to my parents and someone came over and said ‘Barstool posted you,’ and I was like, ‘All right, I guess that’s cool,’” Williams told HoopsHQ. “And then I got back to my phone and I had thousands of followers and messages. It was crazy.”
That moment transformed Williams from an obscure college center to a bona fide internet sensation with an impossible-to-forget nickname: Big Cozy. “My freshman year, right before I went viral, we had 6 a.m. practice and I’d show up in pajamas,” Williams explained. “So they started calling me Cozy. And obviously, I’m big.”
Videos of Williams have been, well, hugely popular on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and everything in between. His size isn’t just for show. Williams is a stout screen setter, a dependable sharpshooter from behind the three-point line and a high-IQ player. “He’s got power and strength, so he can score around the rim. He’s really hard to match up with,” Fisher coach Mike Grosodonia II said. “He faces a lot of double teams, so it creates advantages for us in other parts of the floor.”
In a January game against Nazareth, Fisher’s crosstown rivals, Williams sank six three-point shots in the first half. He averaged 14.5 points and 7 rebounds per game in his senior season and shot 54.1 percent from the floor, the eighth highest percentage for a center in Division III.
Grosodonia first met Williams in the autumn of 2021. He had seen Williams play in the past at Victor (N.Y.) High School, where Williams was voted the Monroe County Player of the Year as a senior. “He was bigger than I remember, but his basketball IQ was the first thing I noticed,” Grosodonia said. “He was a really good passer. He could make a three-pointer. He could score on the rim.”
Over Big Cozy’s four seasons, Grasdonia has figured out ways to take advantage of Williams’ unusual blend of size and skill. “We’ve done a bunch of different things defensively with him,” Grosodonia said. “We’ve tried different ball screen coverages, we’ve played different types of zones, 2-3, 3-2, and he’s tried to adapt to all those things.”
Cozy’s size has made him lumber, but it never made him quit. “We run sprints,” Grosodonia said. “His time might be different, but he completes it. I admire him for that.”
With the graduation of key players like All-American Daniel Cook, Williams’ playing time increased year by year. He averaged just 7 minutes a game between his freshman and junior seasons. This year, he averaged 25. “I’ve always been preparing to (play more),” Williams said. “I’m just taking advantage of it this year and staying ready.” When asked how he makes sure he has the energy to handle the extra minutes, Williams replied, “I don’t eat before games.”
Williams’ popularity is big on extra large, too. “Everybody talks about Big Cozy,” Athletic Director Mike Hogan said. “People come to the games to see this kid play. He scored 24 points in the first half (against Nazareth) and the crowd was going wild every time he touched the ball. It was just electric in there.”
In the time since he ascended to internet stardom, Williams has signed five NIL deals, most recently with Leaf Trading Cards. The bulk of that money went straight into sports philanthropy, including hometown startups like Athlete to Athlete (A2A), a mental health advocacy group founded on Fisher’s campus. “Connor and I grew up right down the street from each other,” A2A co-president Carlee Elliot said. “When (A2A) found out he wanted to donate some of his merchandise sales to us, we were just kind of dumbfounded. He has this platform now and so many athletes look up to him.”
On Feb. 8, the Cardinals played the final game of their season against Nazareth. Williams, who said he hopes to find a job in cybersecurity and perhaps return to his old high school to coach, had a season-high 15 rebounds in 30 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 64-77 loss. A week after the loss, Williams announced his retirement in an instagram post captioned “thank you basketball ❤️#CozyOut.” He may be done playing, but he leaves the game knowing he made a sizable impression.
