While the Focus is On Oregon, Caleb Williams' Decision Lingers Over Oklahoma

Williams has yet to publicly announce if he will be remaining with the Sooners moving forward or looking for a new program.

Oklahoma is set to conclude the 2021 season on Wednesday night against No. 14 Oregon in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The focus of the team, and interim head coach Bob Stoops, is on just that: the Ducks.

But, undeniably, inarguably, there is still one massive question mark of the Sooners’ offseason hanging over them this week.

That question is, of course, what phenom freshman quarterback Caleb Williams is going to do moving forward and in the days following the bowl game.

The general lean by many is that he is going to remain with Oklahoma…but nobody knows for sure.

Williams himself may not still completely know for sure, for that matter.

Some will say that there is no way that the Washington D.C.-native would be waiting this long just to reveal he was heading elsewhere…but Williams has proven time and time again to be cut of a different cloth than most.

He is on record as having said he was going to enroll at Oklahoma as a walk-on quarterback out of high school if needed to because that’s how much he wanted to play for Lincoln Riley - and that’s how confident he was that he would just get the starting quarterback job anyway.

Williams is built differently. He thinks differently.

Caleb Williams :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Many schools who were in the market for a transfer quarterback have already done so at this point in December.

Dillon Gabriel to UCLA, Kedon Slovis to Pittsburgh, Adrian Martinez to Kansas State, Bo Nix to Oregon, the list goes on.

But if we have learned anything about Williams at this point, it is that that would by no means slow him down.

Because he knows any school outside of probably an Alabama or an Ohio State, who provide Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud under center, respectively, will gladly do whatever it takes to land his services.

Then there is the major elephant in the room, Riley and the USC Trojans.

USC has a quarterback, in theory, with true freshman Jaxson Dart looking the part in his playing time in 2021.

But, given Riley and Williams’ history, there is no reason to believe Riley wouldn’t still make the move to Williams if it is an option.

All this is to say that while the Sooners are going through practices in San Antonio, with Williams at the helm, what he is going to decide to do has to be the ghost in the corner of the room.

Perhaps he has already pleaded some allegiance to Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby behind closed doors…but perhaps he hasn’t.

Caleb Williams :: Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma has a lot to be excited about in the new era under Venables and what the Sooners do bring back heading into 2022, but their ceiling is drastically affected by whether or not Williams is on the team.

At this late in the process with very little transfer options remaining, the most likely avenue next year would be to turn to true freshman Nick Evers.

While certainly an exciting player, it is hard to expect Evers to jump right into leading one of the best offenses in the country.

Whereas Williams, on the other hand, certainly makes the Sooners offense as formidable as anyone.

The focus right now is Oregon, and rightfully so.

But this question lingers. It looms over the week like a dark cloud.

And best believe that when the clock strikes 0:00 late Wednesday night, a new clock will start ticking.

The countdown to Williams’ public decree of a return…or his announcement of a trip to the transfer portal.

It will be anxiously anticipated by not just Oklahoma fans, but the entire college football world as his decision could drastically alter the landscape of the sport heading into the next couple of seasons.

The focus is the Alamo Bowl, but Williams’ decision lingers overhead…for everyone.