Oklahoma football: Sooners get commitment from 5-star wide receiver
By Chip Rouse
As reported earlier this week, the Oklahoma football recruiting for the 2021 class is picking up some serious steam.
Related Story. Look for Oklahoma's 2021 recruiting ranking to take vertical jump. light
On Friday, the Sooners received a verbal commitment from five-star wide receiver Mario Williams from Plant City, Florida, near Tampa. Williams is rated as the No. 2 wide receiver and No. 12 player overall in the 2021 class, according to Rivals.
Listed at 5-foot, 10 inches, 165 pounds, Williams was one of most heavily recruited wide receivers in the country. In addition to Oklahoma, he had offers from such heavyweight programs as Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Clemson, Auburn, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida and Florida State.
The Sooners now have six commitments for their 2021 class, and that number is expected to grow quickly from here. A little over a week ago, Oklahoma was ranked 47th in the Rivals 2021 class rankings. The commitment of Williams alone jumped the Sooners up 15 spots, to No. 32.
Williams is one of the players that Lincoln Riley and his staff have had as a prime recruiting target. It has been reported that Williams was very interested in playing with another highly touted player named Williams in college.
That player is quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 class, who is reported to be leaning heavily toward OU, but is in no hurry to publicly announce his final choice. We do know that his three finalists are OU, Maryland and LSU, and LSU recently received a commitment from a four-star QB.
In his sophomore and junior seasons at Plant City High School, Williams has combined for 1,745 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns.
Rivals recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy says the WR Williams has “a lot of the same qualities of former Texas A&M star Christian Kirk,” who is now playing for the NFL Arizona Cardinals. Because of his size and speed, Williams has also been compared with former Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Williams is the second wide receiver to commit to the Sooners in the 2021 class. He joins 4-star receiver Cody Jackson from Richmond, Texas.
Other top-10 recruiting targets for 2021 by Riley and the OU coaching staff are five-star running back Camar Wheaton out of Garland, Texas; four-star offensive lineman Bryce Foster from Katy, Texas, and four-star defensive back Kendal Daniels from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We should receive news on these and other prospects the Sooners are after to fill out their 2021 recruiting effort in the coming weeks and months.