Texas flexing its NIL strength with OU transfer WR Mario Williams

Texas football seems to be entering a phase of the offseason where head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff are primarily focusing on the NCAA Transfer Portal. After pulling together a sensational 2022 recruiting class ahead of, and during, the Early Signing Period last month, Texas is now turning the attention to filling any other positional needs they can via the transfer portal.

Among the biggest transfer portal targets for the Longhorns at this point in time is the former Oklahoma Sooners elite five-star recruit and talented freshman wide receiver Mario Williams. Texas really has a trio of notable transfer portal targets worth zoning in on right now. And there are always more that could be just around the corner.

But if Texas could land a commitment out of the transfer portal from someone as talented with as bright of a future as Williams, that would obviously be massive for Sark and his staff. That is why Texas is putting so much into the pursuit of Williams out of the portal this week.

Texas hosted Williams on an official visit in Austin this week. That already looked like it was a win for the Longhorns considering the early heavy favor given to former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans once he originally entered the portal earlier this month.

Texas football trying to flex its NIL strength in pursuit of transfer WR Mario Williams

And the visit looked to go pretty well with Williams by most accounts when he was at Texas this week. Not only did he like what he saw in terms of the brewing talent with the Longhorns, but he also liked what the school could do for him in terms of the strength of the baseball program.

It looks like it is a factor for Williams to also potentially be able to play for a strong baseball program. And that’s exactly what Texas could bring to the table for him.

Another factor at play here looks to be any potential NIL deals. A piece from Orangebloods (paid content) this week mentioned the fact that Texas had some meaningful discussions with Williams regarding what they could provide him in terms of NIL deals and money. That has to be a consideration in this type of discussion.

NIL is also likely something that played one of the biggest factors in the Longhorns nabbing a commitment from the former Ohio State Buckeyes freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers out of the portal last month. Why not take a similar approach with another young and elite talent such as Williams?

Texas would do amazingly well to land a commitment from Williams out of the transfer portal this offseason. That would be a major win over the Trojans and prove what Sark and the Longhorns are building on the Forty Acres on offense in 2022.