Jonah Williams has arrived on the baseball field with big dual-sport ambitions

Williams went 5-for-7 with three RBI and two runs scored against Auburn in his first two starts before taking his talents to the gridiron this fall as an elite safety prospect with huge plans for his future.

“I know I can.”

Asked about the potential to play baseball and football at the professional level, the response from Texas Longhorns freshman outfielder and safety Jonah Williams was spoken with the matter-of-fact confidence that defines elite athletes.

The fact that the question came after the first collegiate start for Williams as a 17-year-old who shouldn’t be playing college baseball for another year might seem premature.

But when obvious talent matches ambition, it never feels too early to talk about the stratosphere that Williams might reach as a rare two-sport athlete in an era of specialization.

In fact, since 1970, only seven athletes have played in the NFL and MLB, highlighted by the meteoric career of Bo Jackson, the first athlete named an All-Star in both leagues, and the bombastic two-sport tenure of Deion Sanders, who set longevity records by appearing in 641 games in the MLB and 189 games in the NFL.

No one has accomplished the feat since Drew Henson played third base for the New York Yankees from 2002 to 2003 and quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and the Detroit Lions in 2008.

But would you want to be the person betting against Williams?

A major injury and the inability of two more veteran players opened up the opportunity for Williams as the fractured thumb sustained by junior right fielder Max Belyeu at the end of March combined with the ineffectiveness of junior Jayden Duplantier and sophomore Easton Winfield combined with the development of Williams forced Schlossnagle to insert his talented freshman into the starting lineup.

The first start for Williams didn’t come in a midweek matchup against an overmatched opponent, either — it came in a top-10 showdown against Auburn in front of a capacity crowd at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Williams stepped up under the bright lights on Friday, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, becoming the first Texas player to drive in three runs in his first start since Zach Zubia in 2018. The first hit with the Longhorns was a testament to the competitiveness and mental toughness of Williams, coming on a 1-2 pitch after a questionable foul call on a rocket down the first-base line cost Williams a triple.

The hit by Williams drove in a run and showcased his quick hands, feel for the barrel, and natural strength.

With Texas up 4-2 in the sixth inning, Williams had his next at bat in a high-leverage situation — with runners on second and third with one out. He came through again with another single that drive in both runners.

Against an elevated fastball, Williams took another short swing, hitting another line drive to the opposite field, exactly the approach preached by hitting coach Troy Tulowitzki.

“Jonah Williams, what a great boost we knew he would be. We knew he beat super competitive in there. But to have a guy who’s supposed to be in high school right now and be 17 years old, and in that setting tells you what a special competitive athlete he is, fun to watch,” Schlossnagle said.

The confidence and swagger of Williams is just different.

“Even though it was left on left, it was a good matchup, I felt like, and frankly, it was his turn to run out there. Some other guys have been going out there and tried to give us something or gotten hurt and Jonah, he’s been such a great teammate, obviously, the fans excited to see him, but he’s been such a great teammate with that level of energy he brings, and you see that competitive spirit — he’s high-level competitive athlete,” Schlossnagle said.

On Saturday, Williams went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, continuing to highlight his bat-to-ball skills and getting a chance to show his speed, stealing a base after his first base hit and scoring on a single to short left field in the fifth inning that was fielded before he even rounded third.

Over the two starts against Auburn, Williams went 5-for-7 with a walk, three RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base.

The weekend ascent for Williams is all the more remarkable because he arrived on the Forty Acres in January still recovering from a broken collarbone sustained in late October that ended his high school football career.

Also a left-handed pitcher with a fastball that reaches the mid-90s, Williams was slow to start throwing, but began hitting off a tee, graduated to pitching machines, and then live at bats. According to Schlossnagle, however, it’s only been in the last two weeks or so where Williams could really see the baseball.

“He’s staying making some adjustments with Tulo getting to be coached and staying on the baseball like he did tonight — that’s what’s so special,” Schlossnagle said on Friday.

“He didn’t panic in any at bat. There’s other times I’m sitting over there, at least from my vantage point, like, wow, that looked like a good pitch to hit. He took it, but he wasn’t afraid to hit with two strikes. And I think every at bat he went to two strikes, right? He struck out, and then the hits were both two-strike hits, I think, and staying on the ball the other way. He’s got juice, and he can hit, he can hit the ball out of a ballpark, but he’s just learning how to play into his body and it’s just fun to watch.”

The natural baseball skills for Williams are apparent, and unsurprising given his pedigree — his older brother Nick was a second-round pick of the Texas Rangers and went on to play four years in the big leagues.

“I remember in the first month of the season, I walked into our coach’s locker room one day, I said, ‘Man, I’ve never coached anybody like this guy. This is a twitchy, big leaguer-type player,’ and buddy, he knows baseball. He’s just not an athlete playing baseball. He’s a baseball player. He’s also a football player, you know? You can see why he’s going to do great on the football field,” Schlossnagle said.

The confidence on the field belies the personality of Williams off the field.

“He’s pretty quiet and guarded, but then once you break into his little inner circle, he is hilarious and he is an unbelievable teammate. Top of the rail, you’ve seen that stuff maybe on social media — that’s not fake, and he’s into every pitch, he pays attention, he’s not just sitting over there, being a cheerleader, he’s in into it, and so that’s why he has so much respect from his teammates,” Schlossnagle said.

In fact, Williams laid the foundation to get onto the field by how he conducted himself off the field and the extent to which he was a vocal supporter from the dugout even though his path to playing time in a crowded outfield looked difficult.

“If ever the dugout gets a little quiet or something, he’ll be like, ‘Come on, guys, get on your teammate.’ He’ll be the guy to get guys going,” sophomore right fielder Tommy Farmer said on Friday.

Williams also benefited from taking a low-key approach with his teammates when he arrived.

“The older players have to go be intentional 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 has to 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, no one cares what you say, they only care what you do,” Schlossnagle said on the Around the Horns podcast on Monday.

“So for Jonah to do that, and for our players to be accepting of him, that’s incredible. And then he’s earned the respect that he’s gotten, and it’s not because of who he is, it’s because of how he conducts himself around the facility, then he gets his chance, and obviously has made the most of it, and he’s going to be in there for the foreseeable future.”

The baseball background of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who started his college career as a middle infielder for USC and transferred to playing shortstop at El Camino College before restarting his football career and emerging as a standout at quarterback for BYU, has both encouraged the two-sport ambitions of Williams and provided some perspective as a fan.

“I hope he was watching, though, Sark’s a baseball guy and so it would be awesome if he was watching. That would fire me up,” Schlossnagle said on Friday.

Sure enough, Sarkisian was tuned in.

“The guy is out there looking like Juan Soto right now,” Sarkisian said on Tuesday. “He’s playing in some big-time series right now, he’s got a great opportunity, and he’s maximizing.”

Weekly practice time restrictions have forced Williams to remain on the sidelines during spring football, but the mental reps he’s taking at practice and in meetings and his prodigious talent only serve to increase the excitement to see him in pads during the fall.

A consensus five-star prospect ranked as the No. 10 player overall and the No. 1 safety in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Williams made his high-profile commitment to Texas in August after the Longhorns surged following Schlossnagle’s hire.

The versatility and frame potential of Williams leave unresolved questions about his future position on the football field — jumbo safety or rangy linebacker — but his physicality, ball skills, and athleticism make him a super blue-chip prospect.

Williams was also a playmaker on special teams as a return man with two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns as a junior, a role he’d like to fill for the Longhorns with punt returner Silas Bolden and kickoff returner Matthew Golden both departing after the 2024 season.

“I want to do everything I can,” Williams said.

The synergy between Sarkisian and Schlossnagle to allow Williams to play both sports helped get the 6’2, 200-pounder to the Forty Acres.

The superlative talent of Williams as a baseball player and a football player should make him a star in burnt orange and white. He’s certainly served notice of his arrival at the Disch, where the left field spot is now his until Belyeu returns.

Anything after that? Well, would you want to be the person to bet against Jonah Williams to make it as a professional football player and baseball player?

Didn’t think so.