Texas Longhorn fans have been chomping at the bit waiting for a five-star moment in the 2025 recruiting class. The wait is over and it’s time for Longhorn Nation to celebrate.
Safety/linebacker Jonah Williams, the nation’s No. 20-ranked prospect, announced moments ago that he’s given the Texas Longhorns a commitment. Williams’ becomes the first five-star pledge for Texas in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
The 6-3, 200-pound Williams chose Texas over Texas A&M, LSU, Oregon and Southern Cal in a hotly-contested recruitment that kept everyone guessing until the very end.
At various points throughout his recruitment, observers pegged schools like Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oregon and LSU as the team to beat for Williams’ commitment. Every time a supposed new leader was mentioned, Williams would shoot down those reports and maintain that he was keeping an open mind. The Longhorns were always hanging around in their pursuit of the Galveston Ball standout, and Texas really began to surge when Williams made his way to Austin in late July to give Texas an unofficial visit. After that visit, Williams told Orangebloods.com that the Longhorns were in his top three and Texas continued to gain momentum in the weeks leading up to Williams’ announcement.
A standout on both the football field and the baseball diamond, Williams plans to play both sports in college. Jim Schlossnagle and the Texas baseball staff were also involved in his recruitment, including a FaceTime call when Williams was in Austin in late July.
Texas was a bit up-and-down in Williams’ recruitment over the last year but surged at the right time. Early on, the Longhorns were a strong contender but when Texas began recruiting Williams as a linebacker instead of safety, the Longhorns faded behind other programs. In the spring, Texas started recruiting Williams as a defensive back and that seemed to elevate UT’s chances.
“At first they were trying to move me to linebacker, but when coach Choate left (Blake Gideon) was like ‘I’m going to try to keep you in my room as long as possible,’” Williams told Orangebloods in the spring. “Coach Gideon is a great coach. I feel like he can build me up to go to the next level.”
Williams becomes the Longhorns’ 18th commitment in the 2025 recruiting class and helps Texas continue to build momentum. So far in July, Texas has added pledges from the 5-star Williams, Rivals100 wide receiver Kaliq Lockett and Rivals250 offensive lineman Nick Brooks. Texas is hoping to snag another 5-star player next Friday when wide receiver Jaime Ffrench announces his college decision.
“Texas has had a really slow start getting top players in the state to commit but Jonah Williams has bucked that trend and it’s a huge win because only months ago the Longhorns looked like a distant third in his recruitment,” said Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney. “With his ability and versatility on defense, Williams is a welcome addition. There’s no doubt it’s been a rough start with top players for Texas but signing day is still months away, five-star WR Jaime Ffrench is still out there and a big season for Texas could mean flip season is busier than ever.”
Scouting report from Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Marshall Levenson: When talking about what Williams is able to do, it would probably be easier to say what he can’t do. And still, that would be a pretty short answer. At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, the Galveston Ball five-star is a legitimate do-it-all playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. Lining up at safety to this point in his high school career, Williams has regularly been a ball hawk, who has the ability to not only take the ball out of the air, but return it to the end zone from anywhere on the field.
The frame he holds is beyond impressive with a 77-inch wingspan and 32-inch arms. At his size, he is also able to run in the 4.5’s and jump more than 30-inches in the vertical. Pound for pound, he is one of the best athletes in the class of 2025. He has ball skills, vision, instincts, and an overall physical style of play. Whether it be from the safety position or outside linebacker, he is advanced at diagnosing run vs pass and reacting. He has elite closing speed to go with his diagnosing, often crashing down towards the line of scrimmage to attack a ball carrier. Spending time as a defensive back to this point in his career, he also has the ability to cover on the backend at a high level and has make up speed to cover even when he is not in the best position.
Looking at the future, we feel Williams’ best fit is at the modern outside linebacker, which is a bit of a hybrid between the backer and the safety. At 205 pounds before his senior season and yet to touch a college weight room, there is a strong likelihood he ends up playing in the range of 220-225 pounds. At 6-foot-3, that would slot him best at outside backer when looking at NFL positional fit. Either way, his athleticism and overall playmaking ability make him a prime candidate for early playing time in his college career.
