How important is Williams to Sooners’ offense?
NORMAN — Facing third-and-6 at the Western Carolina 10 about midway through the second quarter last weekend, OU quarterback Spencer Rattler locked in on Mario Williams.
A week before, in a similar situation — third-and-8 from the 9 — Sooners coach Lincoln Riley had called a similar play.
That time, Williams couldn’t quite haul in a back-shoulder throw from Rattler in the end zone.
This time, the Sooners’ speedy freshman receiver completed the play for a touchdown, his second through two games of his college career.
The coverage wasn’t quite as strong by the Catamounts, but still, it was an early sign of progress for the former five-star prospect from Tampa, Fla.
Williams hasn’t been perfect through two games, but he’s shown flashes of being able to be a top-flight option in OU’s passing game.
Williams leads the Sooners in catches (10) and is behind only last year’s freshman sensation, Marvin Mims, in receiving yards with 86.
“He’s made some plays,” Riley said.
“He’s left a few out there that I think he’ll continue to make more of as time goes on, but he’s gotten better. He was much better this week than he was in Week One.
He certainly has a unique skillset that I think fits us well and it’s gonna create a lot of opportunities to make a lot of big plays.”
The Sooners are still waiting for Williams to flash the explosiveness that helped make him one of the most coveted receiver prospects in the 2021 class.
Riley and his staff hope to start seeing that aspect of his game soon, beginning with Saturday’s home matchup against Nebraska (11 a.m., Fox) in the Sooners’ non-conference finale.
A year ago, Mims averaged 16.5 yards per catch. So far, Williams is averaging 8.6 yards per catch with no catches longer than 16 yards.
“He’s an explosive guy,” Riley said after the opener.
“He can separate at the line of scrimmage. He can run with the ball, although I don’t think he ran as good as what we’re gonna see as time moves on with the ball. He can be much better with the ball in his hands.”
A year ago, Riley, receivers coach Dennis Simmons and the rest of the staff were disappointed with the overall production at wide receiver.
This time around, they’re hoping Williams is a big factor in turning that position back around.
Simmons said Williams arrived with a similar demeanor as CeeDee Lamb as a freshman.
It worked out all right for Lamb, who had more than 800 receiving yards as a freshman in a group that also included Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews.
Riley has noticed Williams’ self-assurance as well, saying it’ll pay off.
“He’s got a confidence about himself,” Riley said. “You can tell he knows that he belongs out there and for a young guy, that’s very cool.”
While Riley wouldn’t mind Williams — or Mims — emerging as the top receiver, he also likes the way the Sooners have spread things around.
Fifteen different players have caught passes for the Sooners so far, with four catching touchdown passes.
“When we’ve been at our best, we’ve been able to spread it around and get different weapons,” Riley said. “It feels like we’ve got the makings of a group where the ball’s going to have a chance to get spread around a lot of guys are going to be able to make plays.”
It’s also made life easier on Sooners’ quarterback Spencer Rattler.
“It’s really helped our quarterbacks because then you’re not so zeroed in on trying to get this guy the ball, that guy the ball,” Riley said. “You’re just simply going through your progressions and throwing wherever the progression says and trusting it. I think our guys have quite a bit of trust in these receivers right now.”