Two-sport Longhorns star Jonah Williams rewarded for hard work, being great teammate

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Two-sport star Jonah Williams has burst onto the radar of many Longhorns fans this weekend. The 17-year-old early enrollee is the new starting left fielder for the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns baseball team "for the foreseeable future," according to head coach Jim Schlossnagle.

Williams is one of the four coveted five-star prospects signed in Steve Sarkisian's most recent football recruiting class. Texas always knew during the recruiting process that the defensive back also wanted to play baseball on the 40 Acres.

Williams gave up his spring semester at Galveston Ball High School to enrolled early at UT and glean as much as he can from the football department while committing to baseball in the spring. "Stay firm with baseball in the spring," Williams said after Friday's game. "And in the fall, it's football time. Having that split time is what I came here to do."

Schlossnagle says for a high school senior to come in to an established group of bonded veterans is pretty special and shows the maturity of Williams. Schloss spoke with Zachary Symm of OrangeBloods.com about the challenges Williams has already overcome.

"Its a great statement for Jonah. ... (We do) all kinds of things to get guys to connect and learn more about each other and define the corps values of the program. And all that stuff is done in the fall to really lay the foundation for the season. Then you bring in a 17-year-old, super high profile football/baseball player and think about what that's like for him? To come into two locker rooms, actually, football and baseball, and try to make your way. So two things have to happen. The older players need to go be intention to create a relationship with Jonah and help him along the way as to how we do things and how we operate on a daily basis and Jonah walk the fine line between being a confident athlete. But also no one likes the guy that comes in and just starts talking about how good he is. You know, no one cares what you say, they only care what you do. So for Jonah to do that and for our players to be accepting of him ... I mean that's incredible." - Jim Schlossnagle

Williams hasn't been handed anything according to Schlossnagle. The gifted athlete has worked hard to get the starting job. He's also been a great teammate.

"He's earned the respect that he's gotten and it's not because of who he is. It's how he conducts himself around the facility. I'm just so happy for him that he gets his chance and obviously has made the most of it and he's going to be in there for the foreseeable future." - Jim Schlossnagle

Jonah Williams was Rewarded for Being a Great Teammate and Hard Worker This Past Weekend

First Career Start, 5-7 and 3 RBI's on the Weekend

Here' What Coach Schloss Had to Say About @JonahW409: https://t.co/EZbSObNbvnpic.twitter.com/xl3JrwIVdP

— Orangebloods.com (@orangebloods_) April 21, 2025

Williams, who is hitting .556 on the season, got his first two starts of his career this weekend against Auburn. He went 5-7 with 3 RBIs over the weekend. Left field has been a problem from an offensive production standpoint for Texas since Max Belyeu went down with an injury during the Missouri series.

While Williams will surely cool off over the next few weeks, he's already established himself with the baseball team. His football career will start soon enough. But Sark should be encouraged that along with his five-star defensive back skills and the athletes of being versatile enough to play two demanding sports, Williams seems to have the mental makeup to handle pressure situations and team dynamics.

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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Two-sports star Jonah Williams being rewarded for hard work, maturity

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