The Inside Scoop: Alabama is a 'serious threat' to land 5-star Derek Williams

New Iberia (La.) Westgate five-star safety and Texas commit Derek Williams has locked in an unofficial visit this weekend to see Alabama.

Anytime a highly-touted prospect — especially one that’s already committed — schedules a visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala., is bound to ring some alarms in people’s heads.

On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman broke down what he thinks the visit means for Williams and his recruitment on The Inside Scoop.

“Alabama was definitely the team that was trending on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine before he popped to Texas,” Spiegelman said. “That was days after his official visit to Austin, days after after Arch Manning committed to Texas. Texas had a lot of momentum. They still have a lot of momentum with Derek Williams. He was on campus last month. He’s got great relationships with Steve Sarkisian. Terry Joseph, Brandon Harris. The commitment is still in place. But this has always been kind of a long game play. Derek is fully invested in his senior season right now and he’s taking these visits. He’s still checking those boxes exploring his options, but it’s far away from making a final decision.”

Williams is the No. 27 overall recruit and No. 2 safety in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He has been to Alabama once previously this year in early June before he committed to the Longhorns.

“This visit does loom large,” Spiegelman said. “Pete Golding is leading the recruitment for Derrick Williams. Pete Golding is you know, he signed a player from New Iberia Westgate last year from Danny Lewis, who was wanted by LSU and Florida. He’s been a the lead guy and Derek’s recruitment for several years so I think that this visit has been a long time coming. Along with Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Miami are all still shooting their shot with Derrick Williams.

“He’s a five star safety. Everybody’s wanting him to take a chance on him before he signs on the dotted line. I think this recruitment has a long way to go. There’s still a couple of legs and chapters ahead of us, but Alabama is definitely a team to watch. They’ve always been a team to watch and even though he’s committed to Texas and comfortable with that, it’s still Alabama. They’re still a serious threat to keep an eye on here.”

Williams currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $274k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.