Oklahoma football: Five Sooners to keep a watchful eye on in 2021
By Chip Rouse
WR Mario Williams
As long as head coach Lincoln Riley is at Oklahoma, you can count on the Sooners fielding high-powered offenses fueled in part by a deep and talented receiving corps. And the competition is so high that after last season, OU’s No, 1 receiver from the year before (Charleston Rambo) decided to transfer.
The Sooners’ 2019 recruiting class included three five-star receivers, two of whom (Jaden Haselwood and Theo Wease are juniors). Last season freshman Marvin Mims was the breakout star, with 610 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches.
The 2021 season welcomes another huge freshman addition at the receiver position in Mario Williams, rated as the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2022 class and the No. 15 player overall.
He has impressed Sooner coaches since arriving on campus as an early enrollee, and if his performance in the Oklahoma spring game is any indication, Williams is going to be a handful and a half for opposing defensive backs. He caught five passes for 84 yards in the spring game, an average of nearly 17 yards per catch.
Spencer Rattler said in the spring that Williams was one of the fastest players on the team.
At 5-foot, 9 inches and 165 pounds, and with similar skills and strengths, Williams is sounding a lot like former Sooner deep threat Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. That should be enough to scare any defensive coordinator.
Who knows, maybe Williams will acquire the nickname “Super Mario” before the season is out?