Five-star receiver Mario Williams commits to OU,
NORMAN — OU's 2021 recruiting class picked up some serious momentum Friday.
First, the So one rs added five-star wide receiver Mario Williams late in the morning. Then only a few hours later, OUaddedf ourstar outside linebacker Clayton Smith.
Both announced t heir commitments on Twitter.
Williams ( 5- foot- 10, 1 65 pounds) chose t he Sooner so vera group of offers that included Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Texas among plenty of others. The Plant City, Florida, product is the top-ranked player from Florida, according to Rivals, and is the No. 12 player overall in the class.
Williams is by far the highest rated of OU's now seven commitments for 2021.
OU moved up 20 spots to No. 32 in Rivals' team recruiting rankings for the class solely on Williams' decision and then moved up to No. 24 upon Smith's decision.
The Sooners figure to continue to jump up the list, with several other high-profile recruits —quarterback Cal eb Williams, running back Ca mar Wheat on and offensive lineman Bryce Foster—all strongly considering O U. All three are five-star prospects in the top 10 of Rivals' rankings for the 2021 class.
Williams is the second receiver in the class, joining Richmond, Texas' Cody Jackson, who committed to the Sooners more than a year ago.
Williams is also a highly touted baseball prospect and is expected to play for the Sooners on the diamond as well.
Smith (6- foot -4, 220 pounds) chose t he Sooner sf roma group of finalists that also included LS U, Texas, Oregon, Florida State and Kentucky. He is the second linebacker commit OU has received this month, joining Florida product Danny Stutsman.
Smith is the No .14 outside linebacker in the 2021 cl ass and t he No. 211 player in the class overall.
Riley confirms Haselwood injury
Sooners coach Lincoln Riley confirmed receiver Jadon Haselwood suffered an injury recently.
“He'll miss some of the early part of the season and we' ll have to see how the rest of it — how he responds and how he comes back from that before we know anything further,” Riley said.
Has el wood' s injury has been reported to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
“It' s not football related, non-workout related ,” Riley said. “Kind of a freak accident at home.”
Riley also said there was no update on the status of three suspended players— defensive end Ronnie Perkins, running back Rhamondre Stevenson and receiver T re jan Bridges. They were suspended for the Peach Bowl and are expected to be suspended for the first five games of next season barring a change.
“I don't think it's going to get left unattended to, but I do believe it's fair to say that has slowed it down,” Riley said when asked if the COVID- 19 pandemic hash ad an affect on there so lution of the suspension. “There's obviously other priorities that area lot higher right now for the people that make those decisions.”
Riley: `Extreme confidence' in medical team
Former Sooner Starrland Baldwin was critical of OU's rehabilitation process Thursday.
“I was at OU getting forced to practice on basically one leg ,” Baldwin posted on Twitter. “Was nowhere near healthy, no proper rehab.”
Baldwin eventually deleted his Tweet.
Riley was asked about Baldwin's claim.
“I have extreme confidence in our medical team ,” Riley said .“I think 99.9% of the OU players in the past would echo that. Anytime you have tough injuries like Starrland did, both coming in and when he was here, that can be a very frustrating thing. I understand his competitiveness and frustration and hated he couldn't get on the right side of it, but he had great care here at Oklahoma.”
Baldwin was a 2018 cornerback signee.