Rasheem Biles grabbed the headlines in Texas’ Week 1 win over Texas State, and for good reason. After transferring in from Pitt, he was named the SEC defensive player of the year after just one game in the conference.
But the Longhorns’ 52-point rout also featured another defensive performance that deserves its own spotlight. Second-year defensive back and two-sport athlete Jonah Williams turned in what looked like a real breakthrough, and the numbers back it up.
According to PFF, Williams posted the highest tackling grade of any Texas player on the field Saturday, finishing ahead of Biles, Colin Simmons and the rest of the Longhorns. He finished with six total tackles, all solo, which tied him for second on the team behind Texas’s No. 1 safety, Jelani McDonald.
That kind of outing carries extra weight because Williams has spent much of his Texas career fighting just to get healthy. A broken collarbone in his senior year of high school was followed by a hamstring injury during his freshman season in 2025 with the Texas baseball team, where he played outfield. On the football side, he appeared in only five games last season and saw limited action while working his way back.
Williams then dealt with a shoulder injury in his sophomore baseball season, which led to surgery and left his status for the fall in question. If there were any doubts about where he stood physically entering Week 1, his showing against Texas State went a long way toward answering them.
Earlier this year, one source told OrangeBloods, "Jelani [McDonald] is our best safety, but there have been days when it's been [Jonah Williams]," and Saturday’s performance fit that billing.
Texas now turns to No. 1 Ohio State in Week 2, where the Longhorns’ defensive backs will be under the microscope. Williams, McDonald and Kobe Black will all be asked to help slow down Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes’ top weapon and, as the source notes, arguably the best college football player in the country.
The Longhorns have obvious stars on that side of the ball. But games like this are where players such as Williams start to matter just as much. So far, Texas has every reason to feel good about what it saw.
In Other News...
Arch Manning Showed Texas Fans Something Bigger Than His Viral Fall
Before Texas even got to the opening kickoff, Arch Manning had already given Longhorns fans a moment they were not expecting when he was knocked down by a bystander in the tunnel before the first game of the season. The scene spread quickly online and became one of those viral pregame clips that seemed destined to overshadow everything else, but Manning handled the moment with humor in his media availability and then turned the focus back where Texas wanted it.
Once the ball was in his hands, Manning showed the bigger takeaway for Texas was never the stumble itself. He settled in and delivered a strong performance, completing 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns, a response that mattered far more than the replay circulating on social media. For a fan base watching closely, it was a reminder that the noise around Manning can be loud, but his play on the field can still speak the loudest. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Gives Texas An Edge Money Usually Complicates
Arch Mannings name carries its own kind of gravity, and at Texas that now extends well beyond the huddle. Reported to have a $2.5 million contract for the current college football season, the Longhorns quarterback is still operating in a space where multiple NIL endorsement deals can add to his profile without turning him into the most expensive player in the sport.
For a program like Texas, that matters because money can so often become a source of noise, especially when revenue sharing and roster expectations are part of the conversation. Instead, Mannings setup may give the Longhorns a cleaner kind of edge as they get ready for No. 1 Ohio State, with the focus staying on the field rather than on the usual complications that can follow a high-priced quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Must Answer One Costly Question In Ohio State Rematch
Last seasons matchup with Ohio State offered Texas a reminder that good stretches of offense do not always add up to enough. The Longhorns moved the ball at times but left with a blank in the most important part of the field, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has pointed to that issue as one of the biggest lessons carried forward into this years rematch.
There is more confidence around the offense now, with Cam Coleman added at receiver and Arch Manning showing more pocket presence and decisiveness. Even so, the challenge remains the same for Texas in a game of this size: turn opportunities near the goal line into points, because against Ohio State the margin for error figures to be razor thin again. [Read more 🡒]