Mario Williams, a former Sooners receiver, is thrilled to be returning to Norman because “it was never love lost.”
Mario Williams lept in the air to chest bump then-Heisman front-runner Spencer Rattler and stomped around the back of the end zone at Owen Field, unable to control his excitement.
In his highly-anticipated first game as a Sooner against Tulane in 2021, Williams, the former No. 1 ranked receiver in the 2021 class per ESPN, had scored a 6-yard touchdown to cap an afternoon where he caught six passes for 37 yards.
Three years later, Williams will return to Norman hoping to recreate moments like that one last time, only this time he’ll be on Tulane’s sideline.
“I got very excited,” Williams told the OU Daily of his reaction to seeing Oklahoma (2-0) matched up with Tulane (1-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. “Just being a Sooner, I had a great time. I’m excited to really get back to the palace and be able to put on a show.
“I was out there making plays at a young age, and I was having fun,” he added of his time with the Sooners. “That’s really what I took from (my year at OU) — just have fun and be yourself.”
Williams was one of many players from the 2021 team to depart after Lincoln Riley took the head coaching job at USC. Following Riley’s infamous team meeting to inform the players he was leaving, Williams had lengthy discussions with his parents about the looming decision.
Over one month after Riley’s announcement, and the day after then-Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal, Williams announced he would follow Caleb into the portal.
“I came in with Lincoln and Caleb,” Williams said. “And I was like, ‘That’s who I’m used to, and that’s who I was going to stick with.’”
Despite his departure, Williams has kept Oklahoma in his heart for the past three years.
“(I’m most looking forward to) playing in front of those 90,000 fans and showing them I still have love for Oklahoma,” Williams said. “It was never love lost.”
Though there aren’t many players left from the 2021 Oklahoma team, Williams keeps in contact with the few who’ve stuck around, particularly Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman and Jalil Farooq.
“I’ll always keep in contact with them,” Williams said. “Whether it’s about (football), the game or just checking up on them … We’re ready to play and excited to see each other.”
After his one-year stint with the Sooners, which ended with 35 receptions for 380 yards and four touchdowns, Williams spent two years with USC before arriving at Tulane this offseason.
He saw a solid season of production in his first year with the Trojans, finishing with 631 yards and five touchdowns, but entered the transfer portal after the 2023 season after both those numbers were cut in half.
Through two games with the Green Wave, he ranks No. 9 nationally in receiving yards with 252. In comparison, Oklahoma’s leading receiver Deion Burks has 89 receiving yards. Last week, Williams caught six passes for 128 yards in Tulane’s narrow 34-27 loss to No. 17 Kansas State.
Now, Tulane will try to finish a comeback effort against the struggling Sooners. Williams will attempt to create moments that leave him as excited as he was after his first touchdown in Norman, while paying a visit to a place that still holds special meaning.
“That’s where I started my career,” Williams said. “I’m always going to have love for Oklahoma.”
