Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Mar 19, 20235 min
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by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Ahead of his junior year at Red Oak High, one of 2025's highest rated wide receivers Taz Williams Jr spoke to LSUOdyssey.com about his recruitment process, epic sophomore season, his family's story, as well as his ongoing relationship and ties to LSU.
During our wide-ranging discussion, a few things clearly stood out:
Even though Taz is a sure-fire 5 star within the 2025 class, he only carried himself with humility, high character, total love & admiration for his Mom, Dad, Brother, coaches & teammates, emanated a profound & joyous love of life & respect for those around him, while being blessed with an unstoppable drive in his quest to become a professional footballer.
Following a sophomore campaign in which Taz totaled 582 receiving yards, 220 kick return yards, 31 receptions capped off by 6 receiving TDs (including an outrageous 77 yard jet sweep touchdown) topped off by another kickoff return trip to the end zone, the biggest programs in America are all pursuing Red Oak's receiver.
Blessed with searing "video game" pace & mercurial moves, "The Tazman Fantastic" is just starting his football journey....however, you wouldn't know that from scanning his list of scholarship offers:
Already tagged as the Lonestar State's #1 WR for 2025, Williams Jr continues to stack one grade A offer after another: LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Miami, Tennessee, A&M, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, Auburn, plus this weekend's newest overtures from Notre Dame & Georgia Tech.
Watching Taz's illustrious film, one can rattle off a list of reasons why he's a much-heralded 2025 wideout:
Not only does he impose the right height & hops combination, in order to high-point over opponents (over 6'1, possible room for a few more inches), he also holds enough weight to take a beating in an elite conference such as the SEC (175 and climbing);
Taz is possessed by boundless pace, violent strides entering the open field, defender-confounding moves in tight spaces, intelligent vision with the ball, fantastic hands against intensive competition, a strong release (backed by abundant physicality off the line), and he remains a well-equipped red zone target or big play threat, catching 3 red zone TDs while racking up 8 plays of 45 yards or more.
The "Tazmanian Devil" continues to rise in stature by the day, with attention and love pouring in from all over the recruiting, high school and college landscape, including from us here at LSU Odyssey, where we had to hear from the main man himself:
LONN: What's up Taz? How are you doing?
TAZ: I’m good man. Thanks for the luv! I like dat write up in did on my boa Josiah Martin 🔥🔥.
LONN: Some are tough to write but his came out easy. Josiah is a great kid & talent! As for you, Taz, you're receiving offers from everywhere: Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Ole Miss, Auburn, A&M, Tennessee, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and of course....LSU. How did that conversation go with WRs Coach Cortez Hankton?
TAZ: It was great! I can tell that he is a really great guy, he spoke highly of me. Coach Hank said he is 'methodical and selective' on who he offers and it means a lot to receive one from him!
LONN: What was Coach Hankton saying about you?
TAZ: He was saying that my 'skill set is way beyond compared to people in my class'. He thought I was class of 24.
LONN: You also visited Georgia this weekend, how was your visit to Athens?
TAZ: It went great and yes Kirby is awesome! Kirby is a great person.
LONN: So when did things start to take off for you in football? When did you first feel like this is my sport?
TAZ: I was around 5 years old when I noticed that I was decent at football. But when I came back the next year, I was dominating. I noticed that I was good and wanted to get paid by playing football when I got older. I played running back at the time and I think I had 26 touchdowns that year. I just worked even harder the next year and I kept working harder. My hard work is paying off but I am nowhere close to the end goal.
LONN: Did you just say 26 touchdowns😱😱😱???
TAZ: Yessir that was little league (laughs). I can’t even remember my stats from the past few years. That year i would write down all my touchdowns on my schedule after every game. My goal was 30. But that was only my 2nd year playing football and that’s when I really felt it was really my sport. At that time, I was playing multiple sports, football, basketball, baseball, and I was on a wrestling team. I still play basketball.
LONN: You've had a fast rise at Red Oak as a sophomore....and you also set the field on fire as a returner.
TAZ: Yeah I averaged 27.5 per kick return, I had that 85 kick return touchdown, and I also had 2 kick returns called back. Yeah I had so many big plays called back but it happens to everyone.
LONN: It's incredible what you've been able to do while dealing with the separation from your Mom and brother. How did your move with your father from Pittsburgh to Dallas affect the Williams family?
TAZ: I moved from Pittsburgh to Dallas when I was 11 years old. I still have my Mom and little brother in Pittsburgh still. I moved to Dallas with my Dad and stepmom. I was already used to meeting new people and making new friends, so it was kinda easy for me on that part.
But the actual moving experience was hard because I had to leave all of my family and friends behind to go move to a whole different state where I didn’t know anyone.
But looking back on it, that was probably one of the best decisions my Dad has ever made for our family. I still see my Mom and brother, I just seen them for Christmas. I still go and visit them and see them. They also come down to Texas and visit me. I still stay in contact with them and talk to them everyday!
LONN: Man, so it was about taking you to Texas to play in the high schools in Texas or was there some other reason to move to Texas specifically?
TAZ: No, my dad wanted to relocate. He was tired of the violence in Pittsburgh as a whole and he wanted a change of scenery when his sister moved down to Grand Praire and he came to visit. ld’ve been playing for a 5A powerhouse Woodland Hills High (Miles Sanders, Steve Breaston, Jason Taylor) all played at.
LONN: Man I'm sorry that happened, though you point out it's made you who you are today.
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
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