Jonah Williams commits to Texas; Longhorns land Texas high school phenom

Galveston Ball 5-star, nation's top rated safety picks Texas over LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M, others

Recruit Jonah Williams watches Ohio State warm up before playing Penn State Oct. 21, 2023 at Ohio Stadium. / Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the nation's most well-rounded high school football players and the top uncommitted player in Texas has made his verbal commitment to the Texas Longhorns.

Galveston Ball (Texas) 5-star Jonah Williams committed to the University of Texas on Saturday over LSU, Texas A&M, Oregon and USC.

As a junior, Williams was the 5A District 9 Defensive MVP after recording 58 tackles (four for loss), four picks and four special teams touchdowns.

He also caught for 474 yards and eight touchdowns, scored two rushing touchdowns on two carries and averaged more than 100 all-purpose yards per game.

>> Top 25 safeties in Texas high school football returning in 2024

Williams is bar-none one of the top high school football players in Texas entering 2024. SBLive clocked the 6-foot-3, 200-pound safety/linebacker as the No. 2 overall player in Texas entering the 2024 season, which starts on Thursday. He's the nation's No. 7 overall prospect, per 247 Sports.

He was the top-rated recruit in Texas still left on the board in the class of 2025 before Saturday.

Ball opens the 2024 Texas high school football season against Manvel on Thursday at 7 p.m Central Time. That game is being streamed live on the NFHS Network (subscription required).

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Stay with SBLive's preseason coverage in the lead up to the 2024 Texas high school football season and the start of games on Aug. 29.

• Who are the 25 best teams in Texas, regardless of classification or association? Here are the SBLive Preseason Texas Power 25 rankings, as well as the 20 winningest active coaches.

• Who are the 100 most important high school football players in Texas? We scoured the state and counted down from 100 to 1: Part 1 (100-51) | Part 2 (50-1)

• We're taking a position-by-position look at the top players returning in the Lone Star State this fall, starting with 50 quarterbacks, 70 running backs, 40 wide receivers, 25 tight ends, 25 offensive linemen, 30 cornerbacks, 25 safeties, 45 linebackers and 25 kickers/punters.

• Who are the most underrated teams in the Lone Star State entering the season? We're taking a look by region at the programs poised to out-perform expectations, starting with North Texas, Southeast Texas and Central Texas.

• We examined offseason player movement and the 12 transfers that will have the biggest impact in the fall.

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx