Plant City’s Mario Williams picks Oklahoma

Plant City’s Mario Williams, one of the top receivers in the country, committed to Oklahoma during a live Instagram broadcast on Friday. 

Williams is rated as the top receiver in the country by ESPN and is listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals. He picked the Sooners over offers from 34 other schools, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida and LSU.

Before making the announcement official, Williams talked about the recruiting process and how difficult it can be. The 5-foot-10, 165 pound rising senior also said he constantly had to prove himself, especially to some coaches who thought he was too small to play.

Part of the reason Williams decided on Oklahoma was because of the school’s commitment to him throughout the process.

“They stuck with me since my freshman year,” Williams said of the Sooners. “They never went right or left. They always stayed straight with me.”

Williams is the second area receiver to choose Oklahoma in the past three months. In March, Tampa Catholic’s Marcellus Crutchfield, the son of former Oklahoma and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, announced he was committing to the Sooners. Crutchield, who is graduating from high school this month, is part of the 2020 class.

A two-sport star, Williams said he plans to play baseball during his college career. 

As a wideout, Williams has put up impressive numbers, gaining more than 700 yards and recording at least nine touchdown receptions in each of his first three seasons with the Raiders. Better still, he did that while catching passes from two different starting quarterbacks. 

Williams also performed well at several camps the past few years that helped him rise to the top of the rankings. 

He steadily improved in baseball. As a sophomore, Williams hit .280 to help lead the Raiders to a state title. In seven games this season, he was hitting .316.