Texas Football: 3 true freshmen impressing in first week of fall practice
Derek Williams, S
One of the highest-rated safety recruits Texas signed in the last half-decade, former high-four-star New Iberia (LA) Westgate DB prospect Derek Williams, made an instant impression on the coaches and his teammates when he arrived on campus this summer. The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound true freshman safety Williams looks like a SEC-caliber DB ready to make an impact in live-game situations immediately.
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Horns247 reported on Aug. 5 (paid content) that Williams is “further along than the other freshmen that enrolled during the summer”.
The size and physicality that Williams plays with has already stood out to the media during the viewing sessions on the first three days of fall practice.
It’s worth noting that Williams reportedly (per Orangebloods) had some ups and downs in the first evening practice of training camp on Aug. 4. But he apparently was one of the standouts at defensive back in the other three practices to start training camp this week.
Moreover, Williams was specifically mentioned by co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Pete Kwiatkowski during the pre-training camp press conference on Aug. 1 among the defensive backs standing out to him this offseason. He stated that Williams has “range and nastiness” and that he’ll be a “guy who is going to be on teams a lot”.
Kwiatkowski on Derek Williams: "He's got the range and nastiness. He's a violent player who throws his body around. He's going to be another guy who's going to be on teams a lot, then we'll find and pick and choose our spots to get him in on defense." https://t.co/apCAUG8AhI
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) August 1, 2023
PK also outright said that Williams will be an impact player for this secondary during the season. He mentioned that the Longhorns will “pick and choose our spots to get him in on defense”.
Williams is just too good for PK and the Longhorns to consistently keep him off the field in live-game action this fall. How good he’s looked in 7v7 during the summer and in the early stages of training camp is proof enough of his readiness to make an impact on the field during the 2023 campaign.