Texas whiffs on WR Mario Williams after he commits to USC
The results in the NCAA Transfer Portal so far this offseason were very mixed for second-year Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian. And given the plethora of positional needs that Texas can fill in the transfer portal in the weeks and months ahead, it’s not surprising that the misses have already started to rack up.
Sark and the Longhorns staff aren’t going to land each potential transfer portal target that shows up in the midst of a lucrative market this offseason. Yet, one of the more recent misses for Sark and the Longhorns still hurt in a big way.
Texas placed a high priority on the pursuit of the former Oklahoma Sooners elite five-star recruit and freshman standout wide receiver Mario Williams out of the portal early this offseason. Williams was on campus in Austin for an official visit earlier this week, showing that there was some real traction between him and the Longhorns coaching staff.
In the end, though, it was former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans out in the PAC-12 that would win the commitment of Williams out of the portal. Williams was favored to land with the head coach that recruited him out of high school during the 2021 cycle once his decision became official.
Texas football loses out to USC in pursuit of transfer WR Mario Williams
https://twitter.com/MarioWill00/status/1482442764553961475
And that’s exactly what happened when Williams announced his commitment on Twitter on the afternoon of Jan. 15. Williams would wind up joining a lot of the coaches he was with in Norman last year by committing to USC this weekend.
It also looks like this decision from M. Williams could be indicative of a potential looming decision from the former Oklahoma breakout star freshman quarterback Caleb Williams in the days and/or weeks ahead. Caleb is still favored to land with the Trojans. Adding Mario to USC out of the portal is one more reason to believe Caleb will take his talents to join the Trojans in the not-too-distant future.
Next. 3 more Longhorns players that could still transfer this offseason. dark
Texas has a need to fill at the wide receiver position this offseason. And Williams was one of the best that was likely going to show up in the transfer portal in the couple of months after Texas’ 2021 campaign ended. The focus now has to be on getting in early on the next big wideout that puts his name in the portal in 2022.