The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2016 — No. 45: Texas' Connor Williams

[caption id="attachment_23079" align="alignnone" width="800"] Photo by Hoss McBain[/caption] The importance of a player is not always defined by their skill. The most important player on a team is not always the best player on a team. This list is designed to breakdown the 50 most important players in Texas college football for the 2016 season. It is not a ranking of the 50 best college football players in the state. Importance can be defined by position, need, skill or leadership. We’ll count down the list through the summer, all the way to No. 1.Previously — 46: Texas Tech DT Breiden Fehoko // 47: Houston DT B.J. Singleton // 48: Texas A&M DT Daylon Mack // 49: TCU S Denzel Johnson  // 50: Baylor S Chance WazNo. 45 – Texas offensive tackle Connor WilliamsThe History It took no time for offensive tackle Connor Williams to build a name at the highest level of college football. As a true freshman in 2015, Williams was named first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, ESPN and USA Today. He started all 12 games for the Longhorns at left tackle and was named honorable mention All-Big 12. Texas was third in the Big 12 in rushing at 223.8 yards per game. Williams, and fellow true freshman Patrick Vahe, were the only starting true freshman duo on the offensive line in the entire country. As a prep star at Coppell, Williams was a two-time all-district selection and was named to the 6A All-State team as a senior by the Associated Press. Williams was a top 100 player inside of the state of Texas, but he made more of an impact than countless five-star prospects. Offensive line is arguably the hardest position for young players to adjust to at the college level and Williams did it seamlessly. His presence gives Texas an anchor on the blindside of whichever quarterback wins the job for the next two to three years. The Skillset Straight outta Coppell, Williams is a 6-foot-6, 288-pound athlete playing offensive tackle. Sure, he’ll grind a defensive end into the ground in the running game, but it is Williams’ feet that make him special. He isn’t a 320-pound behemoth like some bookend tackles. He makes up for a lack of sheer size and strength with exceptional footwork, hand placement and a mean-streak offensive line coaches crave. Williams is long, and he uses that length to get his hands on defenders. As a run-blocker, he excels at getting to the second-level and is above-average as a pulling lineman on sweeps, counters and screens. Left tackle is the second-most important position on offense and Williams has future NFL pick written all over him. The Impact Texas is still searching for an identity at quarterback. No matter which player wins the job at quarterback, his blindside is in good hands. If you want to gauge the value of offensive tackles in modern day football, watch the NFL Draft and see how many tackles are taken in the first round. Williams is an anchor on a young and improving offensive line. The Longhorns also want to run the ball with stars like Chris Warren and D’Onta Foreman. Texas’ downfall over the past five years is mostly contributed to misses at the quarterback position. Fellow Big 12 coaches point to the drop-off in play along the offensive line from the Texas teams competing for national championships. For Charlie Strong’s group to make Texas nationally relevant again on the football field, it starts up front, and the best player on the offensive line is Connor Williams.

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