Texas among 5 schools standing out for '26 S Isaiah Williams

Earlier this week, Texas football had multiple defensive coaches in attendance for the final spring practice for Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Marshall. Multiple top Texas defensive back targets in the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes, namely three-star '25 cornerback Caleb Chester and four-star '26 safety Isaiah Williams, were the focus for Blake Gideon, Terry Joseph, and Johnny Nansen.

Texas football among the early schools standing out to 2026 S target Isaiah Williams

Chester is one of the top in-state cornerback targets for the Longhorns in the 2025 class. Texas is among his top schools late this spring as we're less than a month out from his official visit to Austin on June 7.

Williams, meanwhile, has been identified by Joseph and Gideon as a top priority in-state for the 2026 class. He's also set to visit Texas in the not-too-distant future, as he'll be on campus for the Elite Camp on June 1.

Texas has caught Williams attention early on in his recruiting process with how much time and energy Gideon and this defensive staff has devoted to the recruitment. It sounds like Texas is one of a handful of schools most consistently communicating with Williams.

The strong relationships Williams has built with Gideon and the other Texas coaches recruiting him along with the elevated on-field success for the Longhorns under head coach Steve Sarkisian has landed UT among his top schools this spring. Texas is reportedly (per On3) one of the five schools "separating themselves" in Williams' recruitment.

"I like their competitiveness, I like the way the coaching staff works and I like the way the players work. When I went up there, they were working hard. Coach Blake Gideon is always on his players. That’s what makes good football players."

The other four schools mentioned among Williams' top group of five, according to On3, are the Michigan State Spartans, Tennessee Volunteers, Oklahoma Sooners, and Texas A&M Aggies.

Williams has also communicated with the Ohio State Buckeyes and TCU Horned Frogs this offseason.

Texas and Texas A&M are the schools that Williams has visited the most since last fall. He's taken a couple of unofficial trips to Austin in the last six or eight months. Williams has also seen College Station unofficially four times since the start of last offseason.

Williams' most recent visit to Texas was an unofficial trip for the first Junior Day of the offseason on Jan. 20. He had a good experience during his late-January trip to Texas and is excited to get back to Austin for the Elite Camp in a couple of weeks.

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