The 2024 college football season presents an entirely new landscape. Texas is in the SEC. SMU is back in a power conference as ACC members. The College Football Playoff now includes 12 teams and an automatic bid for the best G5 team in the land. For most, the start of the season is in Week 1 on August 30, though SMU starts in Week 0 and TCU plays its first game on Aug. 29. 

To celebrate us making it through another off-season, we’re counting down the 50 most important players in Texas as we inch closer to kickoffs. This list isn’t necessarily about which players are the best in terms of NFL draft stock. It ranks players in order of importance to their team's success. 

NO. 44: TCU WR SAVION WILLIAMS 

The history: The Marshall, Texas native arrived in Fort Worth as a freshman in 2020 and immediately made an impact with a team-leading 22.3-yard average as a kickoff returner. He played in seven games as a sophomore, but his breakout came in the Cinderella season of 2022 when he was fourth on the team with 29 receptions. Williams started in all 15 games that year, including the two in the College Football Playoff. He caught 41 passes for 573 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. 

The skillset: Williams is a freak of nature athletically. He has the strongest arm on the team and looks like a Create-A-Player on Madden at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s fast. There is not a physical limitation in Williams’ game. Yet, he has not broken out like a Quinton Johnston. Not consistently at least. Williams showed what he can do with ample opportunity with 11 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown against Texas. He finished 9 of the other 11 games on the schedule with four or fewer receptions.

The impact: TCU struggled in the red zone and on third downs in Year 1 under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. Some of that can be explained away by inconsistency at quarterback. But not all of it. Some of it falls on design. Briles admitted in the spring that Williams must be a focal point. The Frogs intend to feed their Alpha. If they do, that gives quarterback Josh Hoover a No. 1 receiver who can draw double teams and make life easier for everyone else on the offense. TCU remembers the advantage Johnston provided and the impact could be similar if Williams gets enough targets.