Tag: Jonah Williams

Pair of Sooners 2025 recruiting targets earn big jumps in ESPN 300

Pair of Oklahoma Sooners targets earn a bump in latest update of the ESPN 300 for the 2025 recruiting class.

The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is off to a great start. They’re well within the top 10 in team recruiting rankings and are  No. 2 in the SEC, according to 247Sports.

Among their 10 commitments, the Sooners have six blue-chip prospects. They have the potential to add several more big names over the course of the recruiting cycle. Two players the Sooners are in a great position with are five-star prospects, Jonah Williams and Ty Haywood.

Both made significant movement in the latest update of the ESPN 300.

Jonah Williams, S – No. 8, Prev. No. 23

[autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] picked up his fifth star in the ESPN 300 and moved into the top 10. One of the best prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle has the ability to play safety or linebacker and could be a factor at cheetah if the Sooners earn his commitment.

Oklahoma is the favorite, receiving predictions from Rivals, 247Sports and On3. With a prospect of Williams’ caliber, Brandon Hall, Jay Valai and Brent Venables have to keep their feet on the gas.

Williams was his district’s defensive player of the year and excels at baseball. His March camp performance in Houston only accentuated his on-field play and boosted him to a fifth star. A big body at 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, he backed up his top-end game speed with an impressive 4.53 laser-timed 40-yard dash. Williams is an explosive player who demonstrated better-than-expected change of direction along with strong ball skills. Williams is reminiscent of former Notre Dame standout Kyle Hamilton. – Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill, ESPN

Ty Haywood, OT No. 17 (Prev. No. 101)

[autotag]Ty Haywood[/autotag] made a big jump in the latest update of the ESPN 300 after a strong showing on the camp circuit. Out of Denton Ryan (the same school that produced Billy Bowman and Kalib Hicks), Haywood is a legit offensive tackle prospect with great size and movement skills. He’s a physical player that shows great athleticism for the position.

He’s the third highest-ranked four-star prospect, according to ESPN and could see his stock rise during the remainder of the cycle.

Haywood hasn’t shied away from opportunities to compete over the last year. He demonstrates great lower body flexibility and excellent agility. With a wingspan over 80 inches, he possesses outstanding length and uses it well. Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Oklahoma and Alabama are all working to get him on campus this spring. – Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill, ESPN

As with Williams, the Sooners are considered the leaders in Haywood’s recruitment. And, as with Williams, they’ll have to continue recruiting him up to national signing day.

More: Sooners climbing SEC recruiting rankings after recent commitment

More: 13 Sooners who could star in WWE

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Oklahoma Sooners get prediction for 2025 4-star safety from Arkansas

Sooners continue their hot start on the recruiting trail as they land a prediction for a talented 2025 safety.

The Oklahoma Sooners have another top-10 recruiting class according to 247Sports. The [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] is No. 2 in the SEC after the commitment of four-star running back Tory Blaylock.

They Sooners hope to add to that class next week with decisions being made by [autotag]Trent Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag]. However, it remains early in the recruiting process and much work needs to be done.

The best place to start is getting predictions for the guys you are pursuing. That’s what the Sooners have been doing all week. They landed another one, this time from OUInsider’s Parker Thune, who issued a Rivals futurecast favoring the Sooners for [autotag]Marcus Wimberly[/autotag].

Wimberly is a four-star safety from Arkansas who ranks ninth at his position. According to On3, the Sooners have a slight advantage over Michigan to land Wimberly, according to the On3 recruiting prediction machine.

This pursuit will not be an easy one for Oklahoma to win. It has to fend off the defending champs as well as the home state Arkansas Razorbacks. That’s never an easy battle, depending on whether the kid wants to leave home.

They also have a numbers battle on their hands. I’m not saying the Sooners wouldn’t take him because they are pushing for his commitment. But [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has already said this will not be a big class. He said this will be the smallest class he’s had so far. Oklahoma’s in a good spot to land the commitment of five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag]. How many safeties will Oklahoma take in this cycle?

But Wimberly can play and the Sooners now have to close.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @JaronSpor.

2025 Oklahoma Sooners commitment tracker

Oklahoma Sooners 2025 commitment tracker

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a much faster start in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] than they were in 2024. In fact, Kevin Sperry, who committed in March of 2023, committed to the 2025 class before OU had received their first commitment for the 2024 class in [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag].

The class has an Oklahoma flair, with five of the nine prospects hailing from the Sooner State. And there could be more on the horizon. The Sooners are working on landing talented in-state tight-end star [autotag]Nate Roberts[/autotag].

The Sooners are in the mix for a number of the best prospects in the 2025 cycle, including five-star offensive tackles [autotag]Ty Haywood[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag] and five-star defender [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag].

Oklahoma’s done a fantastic job on the recruiting trail during the Brent Venables era, so there’s little doubt they’ll remain among the top 10 teams in the country.

Here are the players that have committed to the Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag].

Updated: April 10, 2024

Bengals made one of the best value moves of free agency Week 2

Big praise for a move the Bengals made in free agency.

After the Cincinnati Bengals went into the free agent pool to sign offensive tackle Trent Brown to a one-year contract, they earned a spot on Kristopher Knox’s best value moves of week two of free agency at Bleacher Report.

Here’s some of what Knox had to say about the move to sign Brown:

Like Tyron Smith, Brown is older and has a noteworthy recent injury history—he’s played 42 games over the past four seasons. He’s a dependable starter when healthy, though, and was responsible for only three sacks allowed in 11 games last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Brown has experience playing multiple positions along the line, but he should immediately slot in at right tackle to replace Jonah Williams.

It’s still entirely possible the Bengals could go after more offensive line depth since Brown is on just a one-year contract, but he provides a good option to protect Joe Burrow for the time being after he suffered another long-term injury.

The move allows a player from the draft a year to develop with Brown to learn from and is likely a cheaper option than re-signing Williams, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals for two years and $30 million.

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Vikings give DL Jonah Williams a modest contract

The contract details for Minnesota Vikings DL Jonah Williams reveal a modest contract value.

Though the fanfare of the NFL’s free agency period has come and gone, there are still plenty of moves to be made and players to be signed. The Minnesota Vikings continue to make moves to fill out their roster, signing defensive lineman Jonah Williams last week to a one-year deal.

The specifics of that contract have now emerged, giving us a better idea of just how much the Vikings committed to their new signing. Williams signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Included in that is a $1.1 million base salary with $250K guaranteed at signing. The deal also includes a $100K signing bonus and up to $275K in per-game bonuses and a $25K workout bonus.

Williams, originally an undrafted free agent out of Weber State, spent his first three seasons in Los Angeles with the Rams, where he worked his way into the starting lineup last season. Williams turned that starting opportunity into 49 tackles, two sacks, and four TFLs.

Williams now joins a Vikings defense that was one of the league’s best in 2023, but saw a lot of upheaval in free agency. Gone from the defense is Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, Jordan Hicks, D.J. Wonnum, and Khyiris Tonga, among others. Williams is a small part in replacing those losses, but there’s more work to be done to fill out the roster.

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Sooners an early SEC winner in the 2025 recruiting class

The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the early winners in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Brent Venables and his coaching staff can recruit. They’ve put together top 10 classes in each of their first national signing days in Norman. That includes the 2022 class, when they only had a couple of months to recover the class after Lincoln Riley left.

And they’re already off to a fantastic start to the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. According to College Sports Wire, the Oklahoma Sooners are one of the early winners out of the SEC in the 2025 cycle.

New to the SEC, Oklahoma currently holds nine commitments in their 2025 recruiting class to rank No. 6 in the nation, as well as second in the conference. Headlining that group is a trio of Top 200 prospects [autotag]Elijah Thomas[/autotag], [autotag]Ryan Fodje[/autotag], and [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag], the first of which is one of the top players in the state of Oklahoma. – Mett Melton, College Sports Wire

Sperry made noise when he jumped the 2024 recruiting class with his March 2023 commitment. He’s been locked in since and helping Oklahoma recruit. The four-star prospect is a talented passer who could ascend to five-star status by the end of the cycle.

Wide receiver is a strength of this recruiting cycle. Emmett Jones has commitments from talented four-star prospects Elijah Thomas and  [autotag]Trynae Washington[/autotag], and three-star receiver [autotag]Gracen Harris[/autotag]. It’s a dynamic group with big-time playmaking ability. As Jones has shown us in his time with the Sooners, he’ll continue to recruit to add talent to the wide receiver group.

The Sooners 2025 recruiting class got a big boost from the addition of Ryan Fodje. They were ahead of the curve on Fodje, who’s gone from being largely unknown in recruiting circles to a top-100 prospect in the cycle. Fodje joins [autotag]Owen Hollenbeck[/autotag], who a lot of people believe will be a standout interior offensive lineman.

And they’re still in the mix for several five-star offensive tackles. Oklahoma’s been projected to land [autotag]Ty Haywood[/autotag], and many feel they’re in a good position for [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag]. They also have moved the needle for [autotag]Antoni Omugoro[/autotag], an athletic offensive line prospect from Elk City.

Offensive line could end up having the star power that the defensive line had for the 2024 class.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Sooners are on track to land their fourth five-star prospect since Venables’ arrival if the projections for five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] hold up.

With less than a year to go in the 2025 recruiting cycle, the Sooners have positioned themselves to have another strong group of prospects joining the program next year.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Vikings sign former Rams DE Jonah Williams

After visiting the Vikings, Jonah Williams has decided to sign with Minnesota, ending his tenure in LA

The Los Angeles Rams have now lost multiple defensive linemen in a span of five days. Following Aaron Donald’s retirement on Friday, Jonah Williams is now leaving to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams was a starter up front alongside Donald and Kobie Turner, mostly playing the defensive end spot as a run stopper. He recorded two sacks, a career-best 49 tackles and four quarterback hits, also batting one pass at the line of scrimmage.

He was by no means a star on a defensive line that featured Donald and Turner, but he was an effective run defender who also mixed in a little bit of pressure on occasion.

Williams originally signed with the Rams in 2020 and was waived before the season, which led to the Vikings claiming him off waivers. However, he failed his physical so he never wound up landing in Minnesota.

Now he gets to reunite with Vikings defensive line coach Marcus Dixon, who was with the Rams during Williams’ tenure in Los Angeles.

Vikings sign former Rams DL Jonah Williams

The Minnesota Vikings signed former Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Jonah Williams to a one year deal

The Minnesota Vikings have made a move to fortify the defensive line on Monday afternoon. The team announced they signed defensive lineman Jonah Williams to a one-year contract.

According to SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson, the deal is for one year and up to $1.5 million. That would prevent the Vikings from losing out on a potential compensatory selection since Williams is a free agent.

Williams is an undrafted free agent from Weber State who played for the Los Angeles Rams the last two seasons and is about to enter his age 29 season. He played in 41 games for the Rams and started 22 of them In those games, Williams had 77 tackles, 45 solo, 4.0 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks.

He will join a defensive line unit that needs improvement after a disappointing season in 2023.

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Cardinals bringing former Rams DL Jonah Williams for visit

This Jonah Williams played on the Rams defensive line the last three seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals have one Jonah Williams added to the team, having signed the veteran offensive lineman to a two-year deal. They could add a second Jonah Williams.

According to Aaron Wilson, the Cardinals are scheduled to have free agent defensive lineman Jonah Williams, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams, in for a visit on Tuesday.

Williams spent the last four years with the Rams after signing as a rookie free agent out of Weber State. He spent all of 2020 on the practice squad.

In three seasons since then, he appeared in 41 games, starting 22 of them, and collected 77 total tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits and a tipped pass.

Last season, he was a starter for the Rams, playing in 598 total defensive snaps. Last season alone, he started 16 of 17 games and had 49 tackles and two sacks.

He was non-tendered as a restricted free agent.

He is 28 years old and listed at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds.

The Cardinals have done a lot on the defensive line this offseason, re-signing L.J. Collier and adding Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Khyiris Tonga thus far since the start of free agency.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Complete contract details, salary cap breakdown for new Cardinals OT Jonah Williams

We look at how Williams’ two-year, $30 million deal is broken down.

The initial report of the contract agreement with Arizona Cardinals tackle Jonah Williams was actually accurate, although key aspects of the deal’s structure were left out.

That’s often the case with initial reports that are incomplete and often misleading because national “insiders” are doing the bidding of agents, who group text them with details they want out and the reporters scurry to get it on Twitter as fast as their fingers can move. They don’t ask questions about the full guarantees or what is necessary for a player to reach incentives in many “up-to” reports where incentives inflate the base value.

It’s a clear quid pro quo and it has now reached the level of naming the agents with their Twitter handle in those tweets.

Back to Williams. It is true that he signed a two-year, $30 million contract with $19 million guaranteed. However, the Cardinals could move on following the 2024 season and save money against the cap in 2025. That would still be a nice payday, but it’s not $30 million.

Here’s how it works.

Jonah Williams contract and salary detauls

The contract actually has $21.5 million of potential guarantees, including a $14 million signing bonus, but $2.5 million of his 2025 salary is guaranteed for injury only at signing and becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year.

The base salaries are $2.5 million guaranteed this year and $10.78 million in 2025, of which another $2.5 million is guaranteed at signing. Each year has a possible $510,000 in per-game ($30,000), active-roster bonuses plus $100,000 in offseason workout bonuses.

In 2025, there is also a $1.5 million roster due on the fifth day of the league year.

Salary cap details

The Cardinals structured the contract so the cap charge this year would be only $6.61 million, but it jumps to $16.39 million in 2025. That’s because two void years are included, allowing the $14 million signing bonus to be prorated over four years ($3.5 million per year) instead of two ($7 million per year).

So, if the Cardinals decide to release Williams prior to the fifth day of the 2025 league year, the compensation for that year would go away except for the $2.5 million guaranteed at signing. They would have to accept $13 million of dead money against the cap for the remaining signing bonus proration, but that would still result in saving $3.39 million against the cap.

Surely, the Cardinals hope Williams plays at a high level this season, which could lead to a restructured contract extension. But if he doesn’t, the team is protected.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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