Caleb Williams says of Emeka Egbuka, "I feel like I've known him forever"
Oklahoma already has a veritable arsenal of receivers committed in the 2021 cycle, and with Caleb Williams locked and loaded as the Sooners' quarterback of the future, there's no glaring need for more offensive weapons.
Nevertheless, Williams is still dropping his line to try and reel in the biggest fish in the pond.
Despite the fact that the Sooners already own verbal pledges from Billy Bowman, Cody Jackson, Mario Williams and Jalil Farooq, Williams has fully centered the focus of his recruiting efforts on Emeka Egbuka. The Steilacoom, Wash. native is the No. 9 overall prospect in SI All-American's 2021 class rankings, and the No. 1 wide receiver.
This past weekend, Egbuka made his first visit to Norman, taking in Oklahoma's 27-14 win over Baylor and getting reps in with the Sooners' ballyhooed quarterback commit. In his weekly blog via SI All-American, Williams reported that his throwing sessions with Egbuka left him in awe.
"He's a really smooth receiver, like really smooth," said Williams. "He's also a smart receiver. An understanding receiver. He understands what his QB wants, which is always good. So our connection, when we first started throwing, it was pretty easy to throw to him."
And it wasn't just Egbuka's prowess on the football field that created an impression on Williams. The two seized the opportunity to build camaraderie off the gridiron as well.
"We had a connection in the sense of on the field and off the field," Williams remarked. "We went and got some food, drove around the campus and we just kinda hung out, joked around and things like that -- things you do as 18 and 19-year olds -- chillin' out, joking around other than school and working out.
"You don't always find somebody and connect as if you feel you've known him forever. I feel like I've known him forever and I feel like I've been throwing with him forever, too. It was awesome. I was super happy he got down here, we got some work in and he could finally see OU."
Egbuka was certainly the most prominent recruit in town over the weekend, especially given the fact that he'd never visited the Oklahoma campus before. However, he wasn't the only high-profile prospect that made the trek to Norman. A laundry list of Sooner commits and targets coordinated a rendezvous for Oklahoma's home finale on Saturday evening.
We had a few big names in town," Williams continued. "We had Emeka, we had Tristan (Leigh), we had Clayton (Smith), we had Cullen (Montgomery), we had Isaiah (Coe) and a bunch of guys in town visiting for the game. We had Aiden, Tristan's brother, too. This wasn't even set up like the Sooner Summit. This was kinda just everybody wanting to come and it ended up working out."
However, the weekend concluded on a bittersweet note for Williams, as it was announced late Saturday night that former Oklahoma assistant coach Shane Beamer would assume the head coaching role at South Carolina. Williams cited Beamer, the first coach to recruit him to Oklahoma, as the one who "started it all." Though he's thrilled to see Beamer moving up in the college football ranks, Williams acknowledged that "it's a bummer" to miss out on playing under him.
"I have a great relationship with him," said Williams. "Awesome dude, family guy, awesome coach. I can't wait for him and his opportunity at South Carolina and I hope it all works out and he turns up the South Carolina program so they can start beating the big schools in the conference."
Williams' blog can be read in its entirety at the SI All-American homepage.
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