SPRING, Texas — Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge four-star linebacker Justin Williams saw a huge rise into the top 25 of the Rivals250 earlier this spring amid an offseason that has seen him be recruited by some of the top programs in the country.

For Williams, it's obviously been a fun journey to this point as he whittles through his options.

"It's been very exciting," Williams said. "God has blessed me with all of these opportunities to go so many places."

Three schools are at the top for Williams as he moves forward in his recruitment: Alabama, Oregon and Texas.

Alabama has showed Williams a competitive nature and a blueprint within comfortability that has him excited about a potential future in Tuscaloosa.

"Just the competitiveness and Nick Saban obviously," he said. "The coaching staff is really great, they're always pushing me to be better. They're great dudes, always making me laugh and having a good time. They explain football to me in different ways. They set everything out on a silver platter, it's laid out. If you want to compete, you go there."

Oregon is a place he has visited five times already during his recruitment, as a consistent theme with Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi keeps him going back to Eugene.

"Just family, I guess," he said. "It's just a great place and great campus. It's great people, a great coaching staff. Coach Lanning is amazing. His philosophy is good on everything. Coach Tosh is amazing, always breaking things down. It feels like family to me."

Texas has been the in-state school that has made the most noise for the Houston-area star, as linebackers coach Jeff Choate and Steve Sarkisian have made big impacts.

"It's a great place as well," he said. "Looking forward to getting back up there to get another feel for it. Coach Choate is a great dude, he'll make you read a book and explain why it was a great book, stuff like that. Coach Sark is amazing, he was at Alabama and had a great plan. He just does everything great."

Williams plans on taking official visits to all three schools in the summer before making a commitment before his senior season.

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Williams is ranked as the No. 22 recruit in the country for the class of 2024, according to Rivals. He is the No. 3 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 3 recruit from the state of Texas.