“The range that he has at safety is real. He’s an outfielder in baseball. He can track the ball,” Sarkisian said Monday.
Of course, that cross-sport comparison makes sense. Williams is a rare two-sport athlete in the UT athletic department. In addition to being a sophomore safety for the football team, Williams is an outfielder on the baseball team‘s roster.
Williams arrived on UT’s campus in time for the second semester of the 2024-25 school year, and the Galveston product joined the baseball program as an early enrollee. But injuries and inexperience have prevented him from making too many highlights similar to the one that he recorded in Saturday’s scrimmage in which he cut off a pass in the end zone intended for receiver Emmett Mosley V.
“When we made the decision — our staff, the baseball staff, Jonah and his family — to have the surgery when he had it, which obviously sacrificed the remainder of his baseball season, that was somewhat strategic to get him ready for training camp,” Sarkisian said. “That allowed the rehab time to happen during the spring. That allowed for June and July for him to start… the strength and conditioning program, the running with coach (Torre) Becton, and that allowed him to be fully cleared for training camp when we got out.
“We knew early on there might be some hesitation. Anytime you have a shoulder surgery, it’s like, can I really trust this thing to tackle and to be physical in the way I need to play? Early on, I think we felt some of that hesitation. But I think his trajectory has (gone up), and that’s a positive.”
In addition to his interception Saturday, Williams also impressed Sarkisian on a play in which he made an open-field tackle on running back Hollywood Smothers. Sarkisian characterized that tackle as “important” for the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Williams, who was rated as a five-star recruit and the top-rated safety in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
“It’s awesome having another big guy back there,” McDonald said this month of Williams. “We all look tall, so having another big guy back there, being physical, being vocal, stepping into his new role on this team. His adjustment has been smooth.”
Would a strong fall lead to a full-time focus on football for Williams? Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle has said that it is up to Williams to decide if he’ll eventually specialize in one sport, and the player doesn’t seem to want to give up his two-sport lifestyle anytime soon.
“Why limit myself to one sport when I can play two,” Williams recently told KVUE. “If God’s given me the talent to play both sports, why not show it to the world?”