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Washington football: can Cam Williams start in 2019?

By Roman Tomashoff

SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Chris Petersen of the Washington Huskies looks on during the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Husky Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Chris Petersen of the Washington Huskies looks on during the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Husky Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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Washington football has seen a standout performance from the early enrollee at safety, but the question is: Can he start in 2019?

Washington football has pulled in an excellent recruiting class for the 2019 season, and the top early enrollee so far has been safety Cameron Williams. While he wasn’t one of the highest rated members of the class, he’s been impressing coaches and players alike.

“We really like how Cam is progressing, and I just like his mindset for a guy who should be in high school right now, that’s one thing that always gets my attention, when those guys consistently show up with a really focused mindset. There’s a lot of our players who have been here for a couple years who can’t show up every day with that urgency and that focused mindset. That’s really what I’ve been saying that jumps out to me about Cam,” Petersen said in a chat with the Seattle Times’ Mike Vorel.

The Huskies have a huge hole to fill at safety after the exit of Taylor Rapp for the NFL Draft. JoJo McIntosh has graduated also, which leaves two open spots, but one of them is expected to be filled by redshirt junior Brandon McKinney. I wouldn’t be so sure yet about that, with the influx of talent that’s coming in at the position.

On one hand, there are the returning guys like Isaiah Gilchrist, a highly touted recruit coming out of high school, and redshirt freshman Julius Irvin, a four-star recruit who should see heavy consideration for a starting spot once he recovers from an injury that’s been hampering him this spring. Even senior nickelback Myles Bryant has been getting reps at safety.

On the other, there are the newcomers, Williams and four-star recruit Asa Turner, who will be arriving in the summer. The competition for Williams is going to be stiff but with his performance this spring, he seems to have a leg up thus far.

The summer will be the true test for Williams, to see how he stacks up with the rest of the competition, but if I were a betting man, I’d put money on Williams to take one spot, and Irvin to take the other. McKinney, on limited starting reps albeit, didn’t look to be there quite yet, and with everything coming out of camp about Williams’ success early on, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at the very least crack the rotation by the end of the summer.

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