56 days until Texas Football: Big Cameron Williams prepares for Year 2
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on.
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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 56 days until kickoff. No. 56 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Cameron Williams, a sophomore offensive lineman.
Cameron Williams season outlook
No player encapsulated Kyle Flood‘s “big humans” philosophy in offensive line recruiting more than Williams. A late flip from Oregon after Mario Cristobal left the Ducks for Miami, Williams was one of the biggest reasons why Duncanville took home a state championship in 2021 under longtime head coach Reginald Samples.
Arriving at Texas at over 370 pounds, Williams is now listed at a more svelte 6-foot-5, 360 pounds. Similar prospects typically maul people in the run game but have work to do in pass protection. Williams was a bit different in that he showcased quality technique in his pass protection but needed some polish in run blocking to do more than just leverage his weight on unfortunate opponents in the 6A classification.
Despite some appearances at guard, including during the 2023 Orange-White Game, tackle is Williams’ long term destination. Playing time may be difficult to come by this season with classmate Kelvin Banks on the left side and the veteran Christian Jones on the right, but Williams is likely next in line behind the top tandem. He could also factor into the offense in other unconventional ways.
Williams played in 13 games last year, primarily on the field goal unit.
Cameron Williams as a recruit
Williams was ranked as the No. 243 overall prospect, the No. 15 offensive tackle, and the No. 41 player in Texas in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. On3 ranked Williams as the No. 85 overall prospect, the No. 7 offensive tackle, and the No. 20 prospect in Texas.
Recent player to wear No. 56: Zach Shackelford
Shackelford played in 43 games and started 40 in his four-year career on the 40 Acres. He was one of six Longhorns elected by their teammates as a captain for the 2019 season.
Shackelford earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2019, the same season he was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. He was a preseason watch list candidate for the Rimington Trophy as well as a preseason All-Big 12 selection in 2019.
Shackelford was named preseason All-Big 12 by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele and named to the Rimington Trophy watch list in 2018. He earned spots on the 2018 and 2019 Academic All-Big 12 First Team and was a FWAA Freshman All-America in 2016.
He was named 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Second Team and to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie team in 2016-17. He was six-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2016, spring 2017, fall 2017, spring 2018, spring 2019, fall 2019).
Joe Cook co-authored this story
