With the evolution of today’s game, the wide receiver position has become a must-need for all college and NFL teams. One high school athlete looks the part to be the next big thing.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area over the years has produced many talented collegiate and pro athletes at the wide receiver position and it seem’s that the next great is upon us.
Class of 2025 Red Oak wide receiver Tax Williams Jr., has become one of the top prospects in the country with 43 total offers.
“I started playing football when I was about 5 years old,” he said. “My Dad had just signed me up and I didn’t really know much about the game. I went to the first practice and just fell in love with it immediately. Meeting new people creating new friends and wearing those little league uniforms to school on Fridays, I just loved it."
The love for the game continued to grow as the young Williams grew older playing multiple positions.
“I used to play running back and quarterback when I was younger, really playing every position I could,” he said.
Though Williams was an elite athlete at RB and QB, it took one coach's advice to help him find his true position.
"Going into middle school, one of my coaches told me to switch from running back to wide receiver because of the way the game was changing at the time,” Williams said. “I made the switch in junior high but I was still raw at the position. I started training with Margin Hooks in 8th grade, which really helped me develop as a wide receiver and learn more about the position. It’s just gone up from there.”
Hooks is one of the best receiver trainers in the state, training names like Evan Stewart (A&M), Johntay Cooks (Texas), Jordan Hudson (TCU) and Jalen Hale (Alabama). After training with Hooks, it didn’t take Williams long to become one of the top WR prospects in the country by his sophomore year.
Williams picked up his first D1 offer from Texas A&M in August of last year and since then has picked up 42 more from the likes of Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, LSU, Michigan and more.
So what’s the recruiting process been like for Williams so far?
“The process has been great so far, meeting all the coaches on the staffs and touring the facilities. It’s just been great to grow those bonds and relationships with the coaches early on in my high school career.”
Williams mentioned he plans on visiting Ohio State, Pitt, Michigan, Florida, Miami, Penn State and some other schools he has already visited before this Fall.
Along with going through recruitment, the media attention one receives as a high-level recruit can be chaotic to say the least, but Williams focuses on the grind enjoying the process while still working his craft.
“I really have just seen all my hard work pay off,” he said. “Seeing all the attention and rankings from the recruiting sites is great but really I try to stay focused on the work, grinding to be the best wide receiver in the country and not worry about what’s written online about me.”
Williams has been on the grind this offseason working on his top-end speed, reading coverages and working on his quick-twitch muscles.
With his junior season approaching quickly, Williams is locked in and ready to show out for his teammates and school.
“I just want double my productive from last year showing up to every game playing the best I can and help the team win,” Williams said. “To be able to play and represent Red Oak is amazing. We’ve had a lot of great players come through here who set the foundation and standard here. Now it’s my teammates and it's time to try and push the program further.”
Taz Williams Jr. had his coming out party his sophomore year, expect his junior year to solidify his spot as a top player in the country.