ESPN: How Justus Terry & Jonah Williams will play a role at Texas this season

[Blake Munroe]

ESPN took a look at the Top 10 recruits from the last recruiting cycle and gathered intel on how they'll fit in this year...

Justus Terry, DT, Texas Longhorns

Vitals: 6-foot-5, 268 pounds

2025 ESPN 300 rank: No. 8 overall, No. 2 DT, No. 2 in Georgia

Position outlook: The bulk of the defensive line unit that helped carry Texas to a national semifinal last season is gone with 2024 leaders Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, Barryn Sorrell, Jermayne Lole and Bill Norton all out of eligibility or off to the NFL.

Syracuse transfer Maraad Watson, an 11-game starter as a freshman last fall, and Purdue transfer Cole Brevard lead a deep group of portal newcomers at defensive tackle that includes Travis Shaw (North Carolina), Hero Kanu (Ohio State) and Lavon Johnson (Maryland). Sophomore Alex January and Terry will also factor into the interior rotation, while Terry is also expected to get snaps on the edge alongside senior Ethan Burke and redshirt sophomore Colton Vasek.

How he projects: Terry's size and ability to play across the defensive line will get him on the field in 2025. The question is where and just how significant of a role he can forge this fall.

A powerful interior talent at Manchester (Georgia) High School, team sources told ESPN that Terry carries immediate potential as a pass-rush option up the middle, but questions hover over his readiness to contribute as an impact run stopper as a freshman. Terry's ultimate positional landing spot at the college level will hinge on the development of his range of pass-rush moves.

First-year Longhorns defensive line coach Kenny Baker said earlier this month that Texas was working Terry at both defensive tackle and on the edge, and team sources suggest that Terry's optimal role in Year 1 with Texas would come as a situational mismatch option in either spot.

"He can do multiple things," Baker said. "He's been blessed and gifted with that type of ability and talent. But on the flip side, you have to make sure you're not giving him too much. We want this guy to be able to settle a little bit, experience a little bit of success. It's not a perfect balance, but then it's also continuing to poke and prod and get him going in another direction, as well."

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Jonah Williams, safety, Texas Longhorns

Vitals: 6-foot-3, 213 pounds

2025 ESPN 300 rank: No. 9 overall, No. 1 safety, No. 4 in Texas

Position outlook: Texas returns 2024 second-team All-American Michael Taaffe but has a major hole to fill at the other starting safety spot following Andrew Mukuba's jump to the NFL.

Third-year defensive back Derek Williams Jr. is back after a season-ending knee injury kept him from the Longhorns' final 12 games a year ago. He's the most likely contender to claim the starting job alongside Taaffe. Junior Jelani McDonald -- who is expected to feature elsewhere in the secondary -- and sophomores Xavier Filsaime and Jordon Johnson-Rubell are among the experienced returners also in the mix. Williams and fellow freshman Zelus Hicks are a pair of intriguing unknowns at the position who could feature in Texas' early season safety rotation.

How he projects: Williams joined the Longhorns' football program in June after hitting .327 with eight RBIs over 20 games in his debut season with the school's baseball program this spring. He projects as a potentially special secondary talent for the future, but Williams had ground to make up this summer and patience might be required before Texas sees his best on the football field.

"We'll just kind of wait and see because we missed a lot of spring ball and all that," Longhorns safeties coach Duane Akina told reporters of Williams' progress earlier this month. "So I haven't really had a chance to work with him. He's intent in meetings and that's a good start."

Williams' ability to get onto the field this fall will be dictated by the pace at which he picks up the defense and the speed of the college game after sitting out the back half of his senior football season last fall because of an injury. A big-bodied safety, team sources say they believe Williams will ultimately become a multipositional defensive weapon whose earliest opportunities might come on special teams in 2025.

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Full article here:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46038104/college-football-2025-top-recruits-play-alabama-ohio-state-michigan