Texas Football: 3 biggest winners from summer workouts for Longhorns

Derek Williams, S

You can’t make a list of winners from the summer for the Longhorns without mentioning the former elite five-star recruit out of New Iberia (LA) Westgate High School, true freshman safety Derek Williams. The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound Louisiana native safety already looks like an SEC-caliber safety from what he’s done during summer workouts in the last couple of months.

Williams is already up five or 10 pounds from his last weigh-ins at the high school level before enrolling at Texas this summer.

Williams is another Texas defensive back that earned praise from one of the player representatives for the Longhorns at Big 12 Media Days. Senior defensive back Jahdae Barron told the media at Big 12 Media Days this week that Williams has impressed him with how “amazing” his football IQ is.

Another source of praise for Williams during Big 12 Media Days reportedly came from Sark. Orangebloods reported on July 14 (subscriber content) that Sark “shared his excitement” about Williams’ potential for the Longhorns at media days this week.

The feeling we’re getting is that Williams will be too good to keep off the field this fall, despite all the depth and talent that Texas has in the secondary. Expect Williams to push for a spot on the two-deep in fall camp and get a chance to prove what he can do on the field early during the regular season.