OTF Premium Jonah Williams availability update (Thursday, 2 p.m.)

[Jeff Howe]

Jim Schlossnagle is hopeful that Jonah Williams will make his 2026 debut when No. 3 Texas takes on Michigan State in a three-game series beginning Friday.

Schlossnagle said Williams did some base running work yesterday. Williams will do the same today and they’ll see how he feels tomorrow.

As far as Williams’ role, Schlossnagle said it’ll likely be as a designated hitter. The Longhorns want to get Williams some at-bats to make sure he’s ready for conference play, but they don’t want to push him and risk a setback, he said.

[CJ Vogel]

Good stuff, Jeff!

[Jeff Howe]

Also, no change to the weekend pitching rotation.

Ruger Riojas will get the ball on Friday, followed by Luke Harrison on Saturday and Dylan Volantis on Sunday.

[McCoy2Shipley]

Will be out there Sunday. Can't wait

[AZ Longhorn]

Thanks for the update. What was the injury?

[PaulieD]

37 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Jim Schlossnagle is hopeful that Jonah Williams will make his 2026 debut when No. 3 Texas takes on Michigan State in a three-game series beginning Friday.

Schlossnagle said Williams did some base running work yesterday. Williams will do the same today and they’ll see how he feels tomorrow.

As far as Williams’ role, Schlossnagle said it’ll likely be as a designated hitter. The Longhorns want to get Williams some at-bats to make sure he’s ready for conference play, but they don’t want to push him and risk a setback, he said.

I hope that's the case.  I want him to be fully healthy b/c then I think that he can do some serious thinking about the future (ie one sport or the other).  He's too good of an athlete to not have him playing.

[NothinButDaHorns34]

Rational fear setting in that this kids going to be injury prone with no real off season to heal 

[f1revo]

Is it the hammy again?

[CJ Vogel]

44 minutes ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

Rational fear setting in that this kids going to be injury prone with no real off season to heal 

At this point there is plenty of evidence to worrisome about the future of Williams. Here's to hoping there aren't any setbacks between now and when he sees the field for the first time.

[pinkman_90]

I thought this injury was his shoulder (was in a sling)? Now appears to be lower body.  Not ideal.  

[Bevohorns]

Not to be that guy but clearly coach doesnt want stuff coming out. Like poster above said it was one thing last week and now another this week seems like hes not as close as schloss told us last week. 

Edited 30 minutes ago by Bevohorns

[Jeff Howe]

1 hour ago, AZ Longhorn said:

Thanks for the update. What was the injury?

Nobody is saying specifically, but Schloss made it sound like a leg issue. One of the problems Jonah is having, Schloss said, is decelerating going into a base, planting his foot and exploding off of it to the next base (think making the turn from first to second or trying to go from first to third on a base hit.

[WRNC]

16 minutes ago, pinkman_90 said:

I thought this injury was his shoulder (was in a sling)? Now appears to be lower body.  Not ideal.  

Williams suffered a season-ending broken collarbone during his senior year of high school. This injury prevented him from participating in early offseason workouts and spring football practices. 

He suffered a hamstring injury during his baseball season in April 2025. This issue nagged him throughout the summer and forced him to miss the early portion of the 2025 football season.

The hamstring injury later aggravated during 2025 football season, causing him to miss the first 4 games of 2026 baseball season

Edited 20 minutes ago by WRNC

[WRNC]

6 minutes ago, WRNC said:

Williams suffered a season-ending broken collarbone during his senior year of high school. This injury prevented him from participating in early offseason workouts and spring football practices. 

He suffered a hamstring injury during his baseball season in April 2025. This issue nagged him throughout the summer and forced him to miss the early portion of the 2025 football season.

The hamstring injury later aggravated during 2025 football season, causing him to miss the first 4 games of 2026 baseball season

In addition to the hamstring, Williams sustained a shoulder injury while playing safety during the 2025 football season, which further limited his ability to participate in high-volume batting cage work and defensive drills in 2026 baseball season.