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.

Here's the full quote from Schlossnagle on Williams' availability:

"He did some different directional running yesterday, like you would running bases, because some of his issue has been running hard, slowing up to hit a base and then starting again for a double or whatever. He did that yesterday. Felt good. He's going to do that again at a higher rate today and then we'll see how he feels after that and tomorrow. I would imagine the first time anybody sees him would be as a DH. I'd like to do it slowly. It's a challenge because, on one hand, you want to get him at-bats. I want to get him at-bats so he's ready in conference play, but at the same time, you don't want to do anything too soon. We've got a long season, but we have two and a half weeks or so before conference play begins, so I'd like to get him at-bats and then, eventually, get him in the field, but we have to take it slow. It's day-to-day, but we're hoping he can play in some role this weekend."

[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 Thursday at 09:52 PM by Bevohorns

[Jeff Howe]

2 hours 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 Thursday at 10:02 PM 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.

[Wentwood]

All in on getting him at bats!!

[GDI]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

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).

Turf toe?

[Jeff Howe]

29 minutes ago, GDI said:

Turf toe?

I don't know.

[Lawnghorn]

How good of a pro baseball prospect is he? First round potential?

[Jeff Howe]

1 minute ago, Lawnghorn said:

How good of a pro baseball prospect is he? First round potential?

IIRC, the buzz coming out of high school was that if he would’ve focused on baseball, he would’ve gone anywhere from the second to the fourth round.

[AZ Longhorn]

2 hours ago, Lawnghorn said:

How good of a pro baseball prospect is he? First round potential?

No question. Elite physical tools, elite makeup, elite bloodlines (his brother Nick was a longtime MLB vet who now runs a training facility for pros in the offseason... Jonah has grown up around big leaguers), tantalizing production as a freshman in the SEC without the same level of investment other guys put in... 

Absolutely first-round potential. Potential being the operative word for the whole frustrating Jonah-in-Austin experience so far. 

Edited 19 hours ago by AZ Longhorn

[AZ Longhorn]

6 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

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).

Yeah, from personal experience, the schloss quote had me thinking hamstring (again). Weird how "Ft Knox" everyone is being about it. Thanks for posting the update though! Jonah is the biggest wildcard for this team's ceiling, and anything is better than nothing for inquiring minds who want to know wtf is up 😆

[Jeff Howe]