Baylor + Houston Offer Longview Lineman Marcus Williams
Two of Texas' big boys reached out to Marcus Williams on Friday evening, according to Hayden Henry of the Longview News-Journal.
Baylor and Houston joined the early mix for the junior Longview offensive lineman. Those universities are the third and fourth to present the tackle a college football scholarship opportunity and followed offers earlier in the week from Texas State and Southern Miss.
Williams (6-6, 250) was a role player on Longview's 2016 team and is expected to be the starting left tackle this season. The Lobos posted an 8-3 record last year and won a share of the District 11-6A title ahead of a one-point loss to Beaumont West Brook in the first round of the Class 6A Division II state playoffs.
Both Baylor and Houston are undergoing coaching transitions.
Baylor hired Matt Rhule away from Temple in December to replace retiring interim coach Jim Grobe. Grobe was brought in to fill the void left by Art Briles' firing.
Rhule led Temple to a 10-2 regular season and then won the American Athletic Conference championship before moving to Waco. Without its head coach, Temple dropped its bowl game.
Baylor, meanwhile, screamed out to a 6-0 start last season and dropped six consecutive games down the backstretch. Grobe got sent out on a high note with a win against Boise State in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.
Houston is preparing for its first season under Major Applewhite's control. Former head coach Tom Herman left the program to take over for Charlie Strong at Texas.
Applewhite, Herman's offensive coordinator at Houston, took the reigns with 10 seasons of coordinator experience and an additional two seasons of positional coaching.
Houston went 9-3 through the 2016 regular season, a somewhat disappointing result considering the squad upset then-ranked No. 3 Oklahoma in its opening game on the heels of a 13-1 record in 2015.
Applewhite served as head coach for Houston's 2016 Las Vegas Bowl Appearance, a loss to San Diego State.
Williams will become eligible to sign with any NCAA Division I program that offers him in December of 2018.
2019 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers
- Jade Ashalintubbi, Elysian Fields, OL, 6-6, 331 —offers from Tulsa, ULM (2)
- Chance Billington, John Tyler, OL, 6-3, 201 — offer from SMU (1)
- Keontae Burns, Pittsburg, WR, 6-3, 182 — offers from Iowa State, North Texas, SMU, Southern Miss (4)
- Coltin Clack, Texas High, QB, 6-3, 202 — offers from Florida Atlantic, SMU, Southern Miss (3)
- Christian Hood, Marshall, OL, 6-2, 290 — offer from Southern Miss (1)
- T.Q. Jackson, Jefferson, WR, 6-2, 175 — offers from SMU, Southern Miss (2)
- Keivie Rose, Henderson, DE, 6-4, 220 — offers from Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, SMU, Southern Miss, Tulane (5)
- Carl Williams, Lufkin, DT, 6-3, 275 — offers from Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Tulsa (4)
- Marcus Williams, Longview, OL, 6-6, 250 — offers from Baylor, Houston, Southern Miss, Texas State (4)