Everybody knows recruiting rankings are an inexact science, even when it comes to prospects billed as five-star guys.

Because when you reach that level, what nobody can really project is whether someone has maxed out at the five-star level in high school? Or is there still more to come?

For Oklahoma wide receiver Mario Williams, it’s pretty easy now to know there’s going to be more to come. Underwhelming is way too harsh a term to describe his senior season, but his numbers were good but not jump-off-the-page good.

Did he deserve the five-star ranking? That seems to have been answered with an emphatic yes based on how well he fared during his first spring go-around in Norman.

“He’s got a chance to have an impact. Very fast. One of the fastest players on our side of the ball,” inside receivers coach Cale Gundy said. “He loves to compete. He loves to practice. He loves to play ball. He’s a good player. He’s an intelligent young man. There’s an opportunity for him to help us in the return game somewhere, especially in special teams.

“Besides the football side of it, he comes out there every day and loves to compete. He always has a smile on his face. He loves football. He loves competition, he loves football and I’m glad he’s here with us.”

For a month straight, media was told by coaches and teammates how special Williams had been. It wasn’t until the spring game where everybody got to see it and see why he was one of the breakout spring performers for the Sooners.

He finished the game with five catches for 84 yards, but numbers never really tell the story of a spring game. What did tell a story was the way he carried himself, the way he looked prepared for the moment and showed some of that speed and ability when given a chance.

“He kind of came in, like he was comfortable, but in a good way though,” wide receiver Jadon Haselwood said. “Energetic. He owned up to when he made a bust or something, but he’ll come back and make a play. And he’s fast. Athletic. He’s a ballplayer.”

Despite the talent in OU’s receiving room, don’t be surprised if for the second year in a row that it’s a freshman who can turn heads.

Nobody was expecting Marvin Mims to be able to do what he did in 2020. And though they’re much different kind of receivers, you could see Williams having that type of impact for the Sooners in 2021.

That game-changing speed has been missing for OU since Marquise Brown. Williams is bringing that threat back once again. You couldn’t overthrow Hollywood, and the same was said of Williams throughout spring. He’s gonna catch up to it.

“And then Mario, he's that guy, you know. I feel like he's that guy,” cornerback Jaden Davis said. “He’s fast. He's quick. He has great moves, he knows football, you know, you can always learn a couple things. He's learning from the older guys and he's getting better every day.

“It's crazy that he's really not even supposed to be here right now. You know? He's an early enrollee, his time is — really, his freshman year starts in August. So it's crazy how much extra time he's gonna have and it's gonna be scary how good he's gonna be.”