It hasn’t taken long for true freshmen Mario Williams to make a name for himself. In the spring game, he made a fantastic contested-catch deep down the middle of the field with D.J. Graham in coverage. His competitiveness has drawn rave reviews, and it has led to him getting work with the first-team offense.
In back-to-back practices on Friday and Saturday, Williams continued his run of highlight-reel catches and looks to be a player who will have a significant impact in 2021.
On Friday, Williams worked a double move (out and up) to get behind the coach in coverage and made a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown in red-zone work. Working toward the pylon, Williams showed a strong catch radius when he extended his arms while leaping. He showed great awareness and coordination to make the catch and get both feet down before going out of bounds.
✌️ feet in.@MarioWill00 #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/6RqA90fgGW
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 6, 2021
Then in team work on Saturday, Williams displayed fantastic hands and coordination again. This time running what looks to be a post route against a Cover-2 look, quarterback Spencer Rattler threw to the spot he knew would be open, expecting Williams to run toward the open spot in the zone.
Williams did just that and as he came out of his break made a nice adjustment to the ball in flight, finishing with a fantastic fingertip catch, diving into the end zone for the score.
DOT!💤@SpencerRattler pic.twitter.com/cs6rPXhh5R
— Lootrunner.mariooo (@MarioWill00) August 7, 2021
Williams may not start for the Oklahoma Sooners at wide receiver, but he will get opportunities in 2021 to display his skills. With what we’ve seen so far from the incoming freshman, it’s certainly possible he could work his big-play ability into the starting lineup before the close of the 2021 season.