Mario Williams Accomplished Something for Tulane Not Seen in Over a Decade

Star wide receiver Mario Williams was able to do something this season for Tulane that hadn't been seen in 10-plus years.

Nov 28, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave wide receiver Mario Williams (4) celebrates a touchdown reception against Memphis Tigers defensive back Greg Rubin (not pictured) during the first quarter at Yulman Stadium | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Things didn't end the way Tulane would have liked.

At one point, they were making a case to be included in the 12-team College Football Playoff field since they were completely dominating their AAC opponents, but after a late bye week before their regular season finale against Memphis which resulted in the Green Wave dropping that contest, they failed to win again the rest of the way.

In the ACC title game, they lost against Army, marking the second time in as many years they weren't able to hoist a conference trophy despite reaching the championship.

And once the transfer portal opened up and they lost their star quarterback Darian Mensah, there was little chance they were going to beat a Florida team looking to finish their year in dominant fashion.

But, head coach Jon Sumrall is confident where Tulane is at as a program.

Despite losing Mensah and some other notable players to the portal, all draft eligible prospects suited up for the bowl game, something that has become rare in this age of college football.

Mario Williams was included in that group, a player who likely is getting NFL looks after being the focal point of Tulane's passing attack.

Sumrall had high praise for the star wide receiver coming into the Gasparilla Bowl, and with the playmaker just needing 61 yards to go over the 1,000 yard plateau to cement himself in Green Wave history, he was able to do just that.

Williams caught six passes for 91 yards and their lone score of the game.

That made him the 12th Tulane player ever to have 1,000-plus yards receiving in a single season, finishing with 1,031 that put him 11th on their all-time list.

It was also the first time since Ryan Grant in 2013 that a Green Wave player reached this mark.

Williams almost came four yards short, though.

Florida put together a late drive that chewed up a ton of clock before they could have just taken a knee to end the game. Instead, they opted to give their walk-ons and seniors time on the field, resulting in a late touchdown that gave the ball back to Tulane.

Luckily for Williams, the coaching staff immediately dialed up a pass to him that got him over 1,000-yard threshold.

It was a great performance from the star receiver this year, so capping it off with a place in program history was well deserved.