247 calls USC WR Mario Williams one of top returning wideouts for 2022 season
USC will have plenty of options at wideout next season after the way new head coach Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff hit the portal hard for skill talent.
The Trojans added Colorado wideout Brenden Rice, Washington wideout Terrell Bynum, and, according to 247Sports, one of the top returning wideouts in the country in former Oklahoma wideout Mario Williams.
The Top 10 returning wide receivers for the 2022 season 👀
Who should be higher? 🤔
📰 https://t.co/EebkmUNmVs pic.twitter.com/HAp6K1QvjK
— 247Sports (@247Sports) February 17, 2022
247Sports’ Nick Kosko ranked Williams 10th after only one season at the collegiate level. Though he wasn’t even the second-leading receiver on his own team, Williams certainly flashed the potential that made him a top-50 recruit from the 2021 cycle. Williams caught 35 balls for 380 yards and four touchdowns.
His best game came against Texas Tech on Oct. 30, when Williams hauled in five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Sooners’ 52-21 win over Texas Tech.
Among qualified Big 12 receivers last season, Williams earned the fifth-highest receiving grade from PFF. On 46 targets, he didn’t drop a single ball, one of only two qualified Big 12 wideouts who can say that.
Using PFF’s tracking data, Williams spent 89% of his receiver snaps lined up out wide during his first season. The 5-foot-11 sophomore should be able to provide an immediate impact for USC regardless of where he lines up.
Here’s what Kosko wrote on Williams:
“Williams was relatively productive at Oklahoma but now that he’s at USC, he’ll still have Lincoln Riley coaching him and Caleb Williams throwing him the football. It just looks like he’s set up for better success in a different location and the talent is there. Last season was his freshman year, so Williams should consistently improve throughout the 2022 season and perhaps climb this ranking.”