An intermountain love story: How Levi Williams and Tatum Stall came together
Unbeknownst to many, two games played in Logan on Nov. 20 will forever be connected, thanks to two individuals who played in them.
Utah State Volleyball met The University of Wyoming that Saturday afternoon for their final home game of the season. The Aggies won 3-2 to clinch a share of the regular-season Mountain West Championship. USU was led by sophomore outside hitter Tatum Stall, who tallied a team-high 19 kills and 20.5 points.
Later that evening, Utah State Football played its final home game of the season, matching up with Wyoming. The Cowboys, led by quarterback Levi Williams, routed the Aggies 44-17 in USU’s final home game of the season. Williams completed 12 passes on 15 attempts for 242 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to lead his team to victory.
Stall and Williams, who both played instrumental roles in winnings their respective games that day, are once again both in Logan at the same time. This time, however, it’s not by chance. After entering the transfer portal, Williams committed to Utah State on Dec. 30. On Jan. 2, he and Stall were engaged to be married.
It’s been a long time coming for the once long-distance couple that met three years ago.
In March 2019, Williams was in his first semester at Wyoming after graduating high school a semester early. During his time off for spring break, he traveled from Laramie to Denver to watch his younger sister play in a volleyball tournament.
“I never really got to watch her play because I was always doing football, so I took the time to go watch her play,” Williams said. “My little sister was reffing one game, so she wasn’t playing, so I just walked around looking for good volleyball.”
Stall, who was a junior at Perry High School in Arizona, was at the same tournament playing with her club volleyball team. Williams, after wandering around the volleyball complex, found himself at the court where her team was playing.
“I saw him leaning against this pillar, and I was like, ‘Who is that guy?’ So, I sent one of my teammates over to ask what his name was,” Stall said.
What Stall didn’t realize is she had also caught Williams’s eye. When he stumbled upon her court, Williams made sure to find out who she was.
“He watched me go put my warmups down by my volleyball bag so he could see what my last name was,” Stall said. “He looked me up on the roster, DMed me on Instagram and we met the next day.”
After hanging out together the last days of the tournament, Stall decided to make her move the final time they saw each other.
“I was like, OK I’m never going to see this guy again, I’ll just kiss him. So, I kissed him,” Stall said with a shrug.
Clearly leaving her impression on him, Williams was not so content with that being the last time he saw her. He returned to Wyoming following the tournament, and Stall back to Arizona, but he continued to monitor her social media and texted her from time to time. Even while she was dating someone in Arizona off-and-on, he knew his opportunity would come.
“I was waiting for the breakup,” Williams said. “I knew they would. They did, then they didn’t, then they did again. It was over finally, and I just kind of followed her and then waited for the moment.”
He texted for the first time in a while after Stall posted on her Instagram story. When she messaged him back, Williams couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I kid you not I literally jumped out of my bed,” he said.
When he finally got his shot, Williams went for it. Fortunately for both Williams and Stall, he didn’t give up too easily.
“I actually rejected him three times before we started dating,” Stall said as Williams proudly held up three fingers, nodding with an accomplished smile on his face. “I don’t really know why I rejected him; it was nothing about him. So, then I decided, OK, fine, we’ll give him a chance. We just had to wait until the time was right.”
The two started dating towards the end of 2020 while Stall was a first-year student at Utah State and Williams a second-year student at Wyoming. After several months of dating, the student-athlete duo knew they didn’t want to be with anyone else. They were destined to get married. The only holdup at that point was the distance between them.
Fast forward to November, the two were both in Logan, each playing each other’s school in their respective sports.
Williams had already purchased a ring in August, but there was still another critical step that had to be taken before the two could get engaged. After USU volleyball’s title-clinching win over Wyoming, Williams found himself alone with Stall’s dad while they waited for her to return.
“I asked her dad before the football game actually, I’ll never forget I was shaking the whole time,” Williams said. “He was super cool about it, just said, ‘Yeah, I’d love for you guys to get married.’ So, I had a lot of confidence going into that game. I was riding high.”
A couple of months later, Williams is practicing in spring ball for the team he had defeated.
While there was, a lot of speculation surrounding Williams’ decision to transfer to Utah State, he said that Stall being at USU was not the determining factor.
“I had already kind of decided that I was going to transfer, like mid-season,” he said.
Shortly after entering the transfer portal, he narrowed his list down to Ole Miss, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah State. And he chose the Aggies.
“In all honesty, no one’s going to believe it, but I kept Tatum completely out of it,” Williams said.
“He never really asked, and I never really gave my opinion or any input,” Stall said. “I just kind of let it all happen.”
Williams said the loyalty and constant daily communication from head coach Blake Anderson, offensive coordinator Anthony Tucker and other members of the USU coaching staff were ultimately what made his decision.
With the two already decided on marriage, Williams’ decision to join Stall at Utah State has made the process much easier. Before his decision it was unknown what their future held, and if Williams would end up even farther than the drivable distance between Laramie and Logan.
Stall said she never considered transferring to wherever Williams landed.
“I feel like I really established my place on the team in the fall season, and we had a really good fall season. I couldn’t see myself going anywhere.”
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In the end, it was a decision that never had to be made. Both Williams and Stall happily reside in Logan, preparing for their respective fall season. After their engagement earlier this year, the two plan to get married on March 15, 2024.
Williams and Stall also dedicate much of their time to their new puppy Denver. The labradoodle that the two have together is aptly named in honor of the Colorado capitol where the couple first met and where their Aggie love story began.