A key Longhorns player that fans have been eagerly waiting to see in action may be playing as soon as Saturday’s game on September 6 against San Jose State, a Longhorns insider just reported.
Jonah Williams was seen on the practice field this week, On Texas Football first reported. This could be a sign that we’ll finally see the five-star commit, called one of the “five fastest players” on the team, take the field.
Jonah Williams Was ‘Nursing a Hamstring Injury’ at One Point
On September 4, Bobby Burton of On Texas Football wrote on X: “Jonah Williams is back on the practice field and the five-star DB could see action as soon as this weekend.
The On Texas Football analysts talked more about the Williams sighting on YouTube.
Jonah Williams … is back on the practice field, we are told, and could be a possible return for this weekend, or at least his return is quote-unquote imminent,” Burton said. “That is big time news…”
“He is now practicing with the team,” Burton said later in the video. “It’s been a long time where he was just sitting on the sideline kind of nursing a hamstring injury. He’s been going at it a couple days now. Could be available as soon as this weekend. We’re not saying that he’s gonna play this weekend, but we do believe that his return to the team is imminent.”
He Was One of the Team’s Five Fastest Players in Summer Practice
The dual-sport player, who is a center fielder for the Longhorns’ baseball team and played 20 games last season (including 15 starts), is one of the fastest players on the Longhorns’ team.
“When he got back out this summer for workouts, when they were doing testing numbers for speed, he was one of the five fastest players on the team,” Gerry Hamilton of On Texas Football said.
CJ Vogel added: “And doing that at 217 (pounds), that gives me more confidence in his ability to run the alley where you need that physicality coming from center fielder… Remember, linebacker was a part of his recruitment conversation for a little while, and obviously safety won out, but you got to play with physicality toward the line of scrimmage.”
Williams Might Do Well on Special Teams, But It’s Unclear What Position He Would Take
The highly touted player was a five-star safety recruit from Galveston High School. However, as Hamilton pointed out in the video, Williams has missed a lot of practice time and might better serve as part of special teams.
If he does take the field on Saturday, it’s not clear what position he would play.
“I think Jonah could also factor in punt return,” Hamilton suggested. “…Any part of the return game, I think he could factor in. If he’s not on punt return, I could see him being on a punt block unit because he’s such a great athlete with power, explosivity, long arms, and the … vertical ability as well… He’s just missed too much practice time to really push anybody ahead of him out of the gate.”
When discussing if Williams had the ability to break into the lineup beyond being part of special teams, Hamilton emphasized that he definitely does.
“He’s got really good ball skills and playmaking on the ball at the position,” Hamilton said. “Now, there’s a learning curve that comes with it. But I just think he’s a guy that if he’s around the ball, he’s definitely making plays on the ball because that is his knack.”
Hamilton went on to share that people who trained Williams in high school said that he had “elite traits with ball skills” and could be just as good as a wide receiver.
“He’s a center fielder in baseball, right? Those guys know how to play a ball in the air.”
Longhorns Insider Hints at Lineup Change Ahead of San Jose State Game