Scouting Report
OT Connor Williams — Texas
Junior
Hometown: Coppell, TX
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 320 lbs.
After
Mack Brown stepped down as head coach of Texas in 2013, the program has been
on a bit of a down swing. Helping the program win a national title in 2005,
Brown is without a doubt a living legend.
The Longhorns have not had a
first-round selection since the New England Patriots selected defensive tackle
Malcom Brown in 2015. Prior to Brown, the New Orleans Saints selected safety Kenny Vaccaro
in 2013.
For a program with such rich tradition, it seems like Texas
would have more multiple first-round selections within a given year. This
potentially changes in 2018. Linebacker Malik Jefferson was one of the most
sought after and the clear headliner of their 2015 recruiting class.
Ironically, one of the least talked about recruits in the class that year is proving to be the best of the bunch. To this point in his career, offensive tackle Connor
Williams has been a star. Only receiving three-stars from Rivals.com in high school, he has
been every bit of what a five-star recruit should be.
Why has Williams been so successful? Lets take a look.
Strengths
- Hand Usage/Leverage
Whether it's
offensive or defensive lineman, hand usage seems like a lost art among college
prospects. It is very rare that you see a prospect as advanced with it as
Williams. Once he delivers a violent punch of his hands, latching onto
defenders, he understands exactly where he needs to place them.
Many times with college offensive lineman, they just shoot
their hands just to be doing it without having a proper plan of attack. You
rarely see that with Williams. He is very wise when attempting to block.
- Mentality
An
offensive lineman's mentality is something that they were born with. Either
they have it or they don't. Meaning that some have the mentality to finish
plays and some other stop at the whistle. Finishing isn't always the most
important part of the play for a blocker, but it always nice to see. It is just
effort.
Williams
has the mindset that he wants to put every defender the encounters on the
ground. In the example above, Williams easily climbs to the second level of the
defense and de-cleats the linebacker.
That isn't the most impressive part of
the play though, it is the finish afterwards. He jumps on top of the defender
to ensure that the running back is able to get through his alley cleanly.
The
backside linebacker ends up making the tackle, but if the RB had a clear lane
and he wasn't there, Williams' block would've created a clear path for him.
- Consistency
Injuries. It's something that can
make or break the status of a draft prospect. It is a factor that you have to
worry about the least with Williams. Since stepping foot on campus in Austin
Texas, he has started as the Longhorns left tackle for 23 straight games.
Not only has he started in every game
he's participated in, but he's only given up one sack to go along with it. A
phenomenal accomplishment for one of the most premier positions in football,
Williams' ceiling is extremely high as he's entering what is expected to be his
last season in a Texas uniform.
Weaknesses
- Over Aggressive
A lot of times with
offensive lineman that are eager to get their hands on defenders, they have
problems of being over aggressive. This results in them at times completely
missing their targets. The good aspect about this though is that it is
correctable and just takes a bit more of patience.
- Footwork
Arguably
the most important trait of an offensive tackle is their footwork. Pass setting
in particular is a key attribute to hone in on when studying how athletic a
prospect really is. Williams passes the athleticism eye test easily, but he
still has some technical flaws in his footwork.
NFL Comparison: Lane Johnson
Summer Draft Grade: Early First-Round
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