3 immediate impact 2023 summer commits for Texas football

Derek Williams, S

Another commit in the Longhorns 2023 class that brings a ton of skill, athleticism, and scheme versatility to the table is the elite five-star Westgate (LA) safety Derek Williams. Texas got maybe the most potent talent in the 2023 class thus far (not named Arch at least) in the hard-hitting and fast-flying Louisiana DB Williams.

Williams is an incredibly smooth and athletic defensive back that shows the ability to line up at multiple levels of the defense. He’s got a quick first step and is slippery in working around blocks when he’s called upon to rush the passer. Williams also has incredible sideline-to-sideline speed that allows him to be a playmaker defending the run.

And it goes without saying that the high-flying Williams has incredible range and playmaking ability in pass coverage. The hard-hitting nature and natural instincts that Williams has for the ball make him a special defensive back with NFL-caliber tools.

The wildcard for Williams will be his ability to show that he’s still improving his instincts and can fill out his frame in the next year or so at Westgate and then early during his collegiate career at Texas. The 6-foot-2 and 185-pound Williams ideally needs to add at least 10-15 pounds of muscle mass before he’s ready to compete at the Power Five level at the safety position.

But what makes Williams a threat to make an immediate impact for this Texas defense is his scheme versatility. Texas will be losing some key defensive backs next offseason in senior Anthony Cook, senior D’Shawn Jamison, and maybe others such as junior Jahdae Barron.

That could open up opportunities at almost all spots across the board in the Texas secondary for Williams to win a key spot on the two-deep during his true freshman campaign.