Alabama, Texas trying to sway 4-star EDGE Solomon Williams

The college football spotlight will shine bright atop Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, as Alabama and Texas will go toe-to-toe in one of the biggest games of the 2023 college football season.

Eyes nationwide will be glued to the showdown, but it will also be a recruiting hotbed, as many elite prospects are scheduled to be in attendance for the matchup. One of those recruits is Tampa Carrollwood Day four-star EDGE Solomon Williams.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder is the No. 261 overall prospect and No. 15 EDGE in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 ranks Williams over 100 spots higher at No. 152 overall.

Like most, Williams will be watching intently. He finds himself in a unique situation, however, as both the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns are in the thick of his recruitment. Both are in his top seven schools, alongside Oregon, UCF, Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M.

As his recruitment pushes onward into the fall, the time for teams to make moves is now. Oregon is currently the leader for Williams at 35.6%, per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Alabama is next at 23.6%.

BamaOnLine insider Andrew Bone and InsideTexas insider Gerry Hamilton each spoke with On3’s Josh Newberg, breaking down where the Tide and the Longhorns sit in the race for one of the highest-ranked recruits left on the board in the 2024 cycle.

Alabama “in the driver’s seat” for Williams

Saturday’s official visit to Tuscaloosa gives Nick Saban and Alabama a golden opportunity: the chance to beat another one of Williams’ top schools in an electric atmosphere. Texas will not be afforded that same opportunity this season in Austin, though a road win this weekend could do wonders for Steve Sarkisian.

“Alabama’s been high on Solomon Williams for a long time, they extended him an offer back in January,” Bone said. “Texas is trying to make a run at Solomon, but I think Alabama is in the driver’s seat up to this point.”

It’s not solely a two-horse race for the EDGE, but the momentum clearly sits in favor of the Crimson Tide entering the second week of the season.

“Alabama’s been considered the favorite for Solomon coming out of the visit process this summer, he’s scheduled to be in Tuscaloosa this Saturday for the big game, A&M and Oregon are also very much in-play there, so we’re going to have to see,” Hamilton said.

How long will Williams’ recruitment play out?

The top priority for Texas will be getting Williams down to Austin for an official visit sometime later in the season. His only other OV that’s currently scheduled is with the Ducks on Sept. 22. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is leading the Longhorns’ charge for the Sunshine State product.

“(Kwiatkowski) remains in contact with Solomon and the coaching staff at Carrollwood Day in Tampa,” Hamilton said. “They continue to talk about an official visit date — it hasn’t been set up as of Monday, but we’ll see what transpires there.”

Williams will see Bryant-Denny Stadium and Tuscaloosa at it’s loudest and most impressive on Saturday. He wouldn’t be the first recruit to become swayed by that type of environment, and he won’t be the last. The Tide will hope for a quick decision after his trip to T-Town.

“The biggest thing with Solomon Williams is: is he going to make a decision this month? Or will he continue to take a couple of official visits, cause there’s a lot of schools out there that are still trying to get him to wait a little bit longer, take some official visits,” Bone said. “But when you’re around a program and that type on environment and that school is leading in your recruitment, sometimes it’s tough to not go ahead and jump on board.”