One of the best football players in America is now off the board.
Galveston (Texas) Ball five-star outside linebacker Jonah Williams has committed to Texas.
Williams announced his pledge to the Longhorns on Saturday evening. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder is ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect in the 2025 Rivals250. He is also ranked as the No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 6 prospect in Texas.
Texas was the choice over finalists of Texas A&M, LSU, USC, and Oregon.
The recruitment of Williams had an layer of intrigue involved as Williams is also a high level baseball prospect. The schools that made it into the final mix were all recruiting the south Texas standout in both sports.
New Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle, who moved from Texas A&M this summer, was said to be a massive piece of the puzzle for the Longhorns.
Williams is the first five-star prospect in Texas’ 2025 class, bringing to class total to 18 commits. The class moves from the No. 13 class to No. 11 in the Recruiting Team Rankings.
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 accordingly. He has elite closing speed to go with his diagnosing, often crashing down towards or even behind 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.
