Tag: Taz Williams Jr.

Penn State comes up short after surprising Taz Williams Jr. commitment

For the second time this week, Penn State lost out on a wide receiver commitment they may have thought they had in the bag.

After it looked like Penn State was making a strong push to land a key wide receiver out of Texas in the Class of 2025, the Nittany Lions were left shaking their heads after [autotag]Taz Williams Jr.[/autotag] announced his commitment. Williams announced his commitment in a press conference at his high school in Texas, and Penn State was hoping to hear some good news.

Instead, Williams announced his commitment to the Baylor Bears, who made an even stronger late push for his commitment. And just like that, Penn State missed out on a key receiver recruiting target to another program for the second time this week.

Taz Williams is rated as a four-star wide receiver by Rivals and ESPN and a three-star recruit by 247Sports and On3. The composite and industry rankings from 247Sports and On3 each give Williams a fourth star in their recruiting profiles.

Michigan seemingly held the edge in his recruitment before Penn State seemingly made a big push in recent weeks. But in the hours leading up to his commitment announcement, word was swirling that Baylor was coming in hot with a massive NIL package for the Texas native. Texas A&M and SMU were other programs in the mix until recently. Baylor was a name that came out of nowhere in the final days.

Penn State’s Class of 2025 currently ranks no. 9 according to 247Sports, although it will be interesting to see how this weekend’s recruiting headlines impact those rankings in the coming days.

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Penn State emerging as favorite over Michigan and Texas A&M for four-star receiver

Will Penn State beat Michigan and Texas A&M for this four-star wide receiver as his commitment date approaches?

Coming off of the 2023 season, it has been clear that Penn State is working to try to find big-play wide receivers with help from the transfer portal and the recruiting trails. Some of that help has already arrived and more is on the way with a couple of wide receiver commitments in the Class of 2024 and 2025. Now, another key wide receiver could be making his way to Penn State with a commitment date on the horizon.

[autotag]Taz Williams Jr.[/autotag] is a four-star wide receiver from Texas. The coveted receiver recruit is scheduled to announce his commitment decision on July 13, one week from now, and Penn State could be emerging is a trending favorite for the commitment.

Williams Jr. has no shortage of great options on the table. The final four schools believed to be in the running are Big Ten programs Penn State and Michigan and in-state options Texas A&M and SMU. Williams Jr. took official visits to Texas A&M, Penn State, and Michigan in June. So who has the edge?

The first official crystal ball prediction made on 247Sports actually favors Penn State. Lions247 staff writer Tyler Calvaruso shared his official crystal ball prediction on Friday, with Penn State being the pick. Calvaruso’s track record seems to be a very positive sign for Penn State’s chances as he is 11-for-14 in his crystal ball predictions so far in the Class of 2025 and owning a 90.75% accuracy rate overall with 281 predictions officially on the record at 247Sports.

Calvaruso’s prediction, at the time of this posting, is the only prediction on the board. This will be something to monitor in the days leading up to Williams Jr.’s commitment next weekend.

This could easily change drastically if it follows a similar trend, but the On3 recruiting prediction machine is far less promising for Penn State. At the time of this post, Michigan owned a 67.5% chance of securing the commitment from the four-star wide receiver. SMU (6.4%) and Texas A&M (4.0%) were next in line. Penn State had just a 2.7% chance of winning the commitment.

But it is also worth noting the last official prediction made on On3 came three months ago. Will Penn State be grabbing another talented wide receiver in the Class of 2025 from underneath the defending Big Ten and national champions? Oh, how sweet that would be.

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Penn State swinging for fences with multiple 2025 wide receivers

Penn State is working hard to add talented wide receivers in the Class of 2025.

After what transpired last season, everyone has their eye on what Penn State does at the wide receiver position in future recruiting classes.

There is a lot of pressure and expectations on [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag] to deliver elite talent to his receiver room, and while the future recruits won’t immediately help in the upcoming year, having a top pool to choose from should ensure the Nittany Lions don’t have down season in terms of production.

It’s clear that 2025 is an important target, and they are swinging for the fences in terms of who they are going after.

On3 has reported there are multiple wide receivers set to visit Happy Valley during the spring and summer with hopes that they land many of the names on their list.

As of now, there is only one receiver committed in the class, three-star [autotag]Lyrick Samuel[/autotag] from New York.

Sean Fitz of On3 said that one of Hagans’ top targets, Quincy Porter, is visiting Penn State in an unofficial fashion on March 29. This will mark the second time he’s been back on campus as he wasn’t able to come to the White Out game (subscription required).

The consensus four-star recruit out of New Jersey is a 6’3″, 190-pound receiver who is rated as 54th-best player in the country and No. 7 overall player at his position according to On3’s Industry Rankings.

Two others have locked in official visits with the Nittany Lions this summer.

[autotag]Lex Cyrus[/autotag] is a Pennsylvania native and four-star recruit. He made a big leap in the new On3 rankings that have him 132nd player in the country and No. 17 wide receiver. He’s a 5’10”, 175-pounder who seems to be leaning Penn State’s way based on the amount of visits he’s already taken to Happy Valley, but he’ll be expanding his radius in the coming months before visiting the Nittany Lions starting May 31 (subscription required).

The other receiver taking an official visit is [autotag]Taz Williams Jr.[/autotag], who is playing his high school football in Texas, but grew up in Pittsburgh.

He’s a 6’0″, 180-pounder who is listed as a four-star and ranked as the 39th-best wide receiver in the class of 2025.

Ryan Snyder of On3 reported that this could be a difficult process for Penn State to win as multiple other elite programs are currently leading the way in his recruitment (subscription required).

Williams Jr. has already locked in four other official visits with the Nittany Lions hosting him starting June 14.

This is a great sign for Penn State as they clearly have recognized a need to start recruiting the receiver room at a higher rate and get in more talented players to compete with other programs in the Big Ten and those who are entering.

4-star WR Taz Williams Jr. from Texas ‘open to going anywhere’ at next level

So far he has 43 college offers.

Wide receivers are arguably the second-most important position group in the modern game after quarterbacks. It should come as no surprise then that some of the hottest recruits in the 2024 cycle are receivers. One prospect we’ll have an eye on over the coming weeks and months is Red Oak (Texas) four-star wideout Taz Williams Jr.

Coming out of last weekend’s wide receiver skills clinic in Dallas, it sounds like Williams’ recruitment is wide open and he’s open to playing anywhere, per Cole Patterson at Rivals.

“The Red Oak playmaker has notched more than 40 offers, with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Texas among the programs in pursuit. Williams has seen several campuses this summer as he gets more of a feel of what he is looking for in a school. Originally from Pennsylvania, Williams is open to going anywhere for the next level. He will be at LSU at the end of the month as the Tigers make a push.”

Williams (5-foot-11, 165 pounds) has no shortage of choices. So far, he has 43 college offers. None of them are considered “hot” for his commitment by 247Sports’ account, though.

That mirrors what On3’s prediction model says, which has no clear favorite at this time. At the moment, Texas is out in front at 23.1%, followed by TCU at 15.3%, then SMU at 8.9% and Ohio State at 7.4%.

Rivals is highest on Williams among the four major recruiting services. They have him ranked No. 21 among wide receivers in his class and No. 135 nationally.

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Ohio State offers Texas 2025 wide receiver while on a visit

The Buckeyes offer the wide out while in Columbus #GoBucks

Although [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] has completed its spring practices, the recruiting efforts push forward. Head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his staff are still actively going after prospects, hosting them on visits to Columbus.

One of those recent visitors was Texas wide receiver [autotag]Taz Williams Jr.[/autotag], who is currently on a recruiting visit spree over the next few days. His visits started with a trip to visit the Buckeyes and before he left campus, Williams Jr. was offered a scholarship.

The 2025 prospect stands 6-feet tall and weighs 175 pounds. Williams Jr. is ranked as the No. 29 best wide receiver and 211th overall prospect according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

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Williams Jr.’s next visit two visits are to Ohio State opponents during the 2023 season, Notre Dame and Michigan. The Buckeyes have set the bar and hopefully keep it that way after his visits are finished.

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LSU offers 2025 Red Oak (Tex.) WR Taz Williams Jr.

LSU is looking to the Lone Star State for one of the best wide receiver prospects in the 2025 class.

LSU is looking to the Lonestar state for one of the best wide receiver prospects in the 2025 class.

[autotag]Taz Williams Jr.[/autotag] is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound wide receiver from Red Oak, Texas where he plays for Red Oak High School.

There are currently no Crystal Ball Projections so far per 247Sports but SMU is a 37% favorite to land him per On3.

Film Analysis: Williams is currently flying under the radar on recruiting boards as he doesn’t have any stars yet on any site. That is likely to change soon as more top colleges hop on board. Williams is a speedster that can make plays at wide receiver and as a return man.

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