A notable, but not panic-worthy, loss for the 2021 Texas football recruiting class arrived this weekend with 4-Star S Kaine Williams picking Alabama.
A once well noted target of the 2021 Texas football recruiting class, four-star John Ehret safety Kaine Williams, announced his commitment elsewhere on May 15. Texas was one of more than two dozen schools that offered Williams. Back on Jan. 31, Texas officially sent out their scholarship offer to Williams.
Other notable schools outside of the Texas Longhorns football program that offered Williams includes the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Tennessee Volunteers, Florida State Seminoles, Oklahoma Sooners, and Miami Hurricanes. The SEC held the priority it seemed among the top schools for Williams before making this announcement heading into the weekend.
Williams announced his commitment to Alabama over the rest of the field on his Twitter timeline on the evening of May 15. This Marrero, LA, native was trending in favor of head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide on the morning of his commitment date. All 10 of the expert 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions favored him to land with Alabama.
Williams ranks as the nation’s No. 141 2021 high school prospect, No. 5 safety, and No. 6 prospect out of Louisiana (247Sports Composite). This sizable 6-foot-2 and 205 pound defensive back registered 50 total tackles, 10 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and four interceptions, during his junior season at John Ehret High School.
One of the top safeties in the nation, @kwilliams5_ , will be making his decision known this Friday. #CollegeFootball #RollTide #GeauxTigers #GigEm pic.twitter.com/ROLUZP8WFk
— Justin Riley (@JustinRiley7) May 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/kwilliams5_/status/1261428983226195969
His 247Sports recruiting profile projects Williams out as a potential day three pick in a future NFL Draft. The gifted physical tools and good coverage skills of Williams could make him a very appealing future prospect for the NFL Draft realistically too.
Moreover, a slow start to this recruiting cycle for the Crimson Tide could start to be picking up of late. Williams is actually the lowest rated of the five commits that Alabama now has in their 2021 recruiting class.
According to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, Alabama’s 2021 recruiting class now sits in the No. 41 slot in the nation and in the ninth spot in the SEC. Texas holds steady at No. 8 in the nation and in the top spot in the Big 12. Williams was the highest ranked safety that Texas offered to date, so the focus might now shift mostly to four-star Kennedale product J.D. Coffey.