AUSTIN — One of the only remaining uncommitted top-10 prospects left on the board is 5-star safety Jonah Williams. The 6-3, 205 pound prospect from Ball High School in Galveston has LSU, Texas A&M and Oregon in heavy pursuit for his pledge.
Williams is one of the best tri-sport athletes in the country regardless of classification. He qualified for track regionals in the 200-meter dash, can play centerfield or toss a 90 MPH-plus fastball from the mound and even lay the wood on offensive skill players as a ball hawking safety.
Over the summer Williams has taken football official visits at the campuses of USC, Oregon, LSU and Texas A&M. Combine that with weekend travel baseball tournaments and camps has kept his schedule full all summer.
He was recently interviewed by Gerry Hamilton from On Texas Football a few days ago to recap a stacked summer. Williams shared how he’s developed from the plate, mound and where he sees himself during a crucial senior year.
“I’m just blessed to be in this position,” Williams said. “I thank God for all the opportunities. It has been pretty stressful picking up phone calls left and right during my free time when I’m trying to relax.”
He doesn’t specialize at a single position either playing both ways for his Golden Tornado’s team. Williams recorded 1,176 yards all-purpose yards while also being named defensive MVP as a junior. College programs have to be chomping at the bits to land such a diverse athlete, maybe one that can be considered generational.
Ultimately, he’ll have a tough decision to make as a senior with a future in baseball at the professional level. Williams could possibly be selected in next summer’s MLB Draft but for now will focus on football with a commitment date of Aug. 24 which will soon be here.
“Relationships with coaches [are important],” Williams said. “Distance really isn’t a factor for me because the farther you go the more you grow as a man. It’s just the relationships, culture, development and the after football life.”
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has targeted Williams heavily during his three year tenure. He even made it a priority to make a game last season at Ball High.
“Coach Lanning and his staff make sure to take care of me when I’m on visits,” Williams said. “I really love their coaching staff. The development element there is what you want from a school.”
As for Texas, the program has always been there for Williams. He’s made multiple trips to the Longhorns and are in play as any of his top-five schools.
“I’m really high on them and Coach [Blake] Gideon,” Williams said. “I went through all the meetings [like and official] but I couldn’t make time for an official because I was super busy.”
One thing that does set Texas apart is their baseball team coached by Jim Schlossnagle. He has continued to reach out to Williams in his move from the Aggies to Longhorns this offseason.
“He recruited me heavily at Texas A&M and when he got to go to Texas we made sure to talk on my visit,” Williams said.
