Arizona State lands commitment from Texas OLB Jaydon Williams

The stay-at-home orders have yet to slow down the Longhorns on the recruiting trail.

Jaydon Williams, a three-star outside linebacker from Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff High School, committed to Arizona State on Friday. The Sun Devils have been busy in the Lone Star State and make a concerted effort to pluck Williams away from Texas, Kansas and SMU, which were deemed heavier favorites to land the mid-three-star in the weeks leading up to his announcement.

The Dallas-area standout selected Arizona State over 20-plus offers that arrived after Williams made a transition from wide receiver to outside linebacker during his junior campaign in 2019. Schools such as SMU, Ole Miss, Kansas, Texas and Mississippi State were finalists for Williams. Oklahoma also extended an offer in his direction on the Monday prior to his announcement.

Even more surprising: after the Longhorns issued an offer to Williams early on this spring and he instantly referred to Texas as his "dream school" and announced his intent to commit on May 1 soon after.

Williams currently ranks as a 5.6 three-star and the No. 128 overall player in the state for the 2021 class. He is the third member of Arizona State's 2021 class and the first from Texas. All three of the Sun Devils' pledges thus far are ranked as three-star prospects.

"It was a struggle (making the decision), especially with CoVid-19 going on, but I think I made the best choice and I can see myself being a good ballplayer and an even better student."

"Coach (Emmett) Jones at Kansas -- I can relate to him because he is from the same place I'm from. (It's) the same with Coach (Rashaad) Samples at SMU. (The whole) Texas staff took me under (their) wings like I’m a part of their family, but Coach (Antonio) Pierce at Arizona State knows what it takes to get to the NFL and he is a player's coach."

Williams, a converted wide receiver, made the transition to outside linebacker midway through his junior campaign last fall. The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder brings a ton of speed to the position -- evident by a 7.52-second 60-meter time, a 23-second 200-meter time and a 52.31-second 400-meter time.

That speed translated to 32 total tackles, including 8.0 for loss, in addition to five sacks. Williams accumulated these defensive statistics in a five-game span.

Williams may be new to the position, but his natural physical traits made for an easy adjustment. He possesses exceptional speed and quickness off the edge with the potential to blow up plays before they even get underway. Williams has a noticeably quick initial step off the ball and explodes from his two-point stance. He is feisty in pursuit of quarterbacks and ball-carriers and the athleticism he gets after them with is rare for the outside linebacker position.

In a short five-game sample size, Williams was very productive. He's a potential double-digit sack artist over the course of a full season.

Williams' quickness challenges opposing tackles, and while he's able to shed blockers, it's an area of his game he'll need to focus on. He's also shown the ability to crash inside, battle in the trenches and be an asset in the inside run game. Many of these aspects of Williams' game could be aided by packing on more mass to his frame.

There are not too many instances of Williams dropping back in coverage, which will be a major focal point of his evaluation as a senior at South Oak Cliff High. However, he runs the field very well on special teams and as he pursues ball-carriers, and his short-area quickness and ability to change directions in a flash is promising. As is his potential for big-time hits and turnovers.