Why Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams is Ready Now

The Sooners' fabulous freshman had a brief appearance and gave reason to think if anything happens to Spencer Rattler, the OU offense is in good hands.

In the spring game, he was excellent. In the season opener, he was efficient. And in a 76-0 domination of Western Carolina on Saturday, Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams showed why he’s Lincoln Riley’s next great quarterback.

Williams, the No. 1 high school player in the 2021 class per Sports Illustrated All-American and just about anyone else who covers recruiting, wanted to come to OU so he could play for Riley.

Riley wanted Williams out of Washington, DC, because he’s a generational talent.

Caleb Williams and Jaden Knowles :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-Imagn Content Services, LLC

The 6-foot-1, 218-pound Williams’ stats against the Catamounts were on the modest side: 5-of-10 passing for 84 yards, a meager 120.4 rating. He also ran the football four times for 60 yards.

But go beyond the numbers: his second play was a 59-yard run. His second drive produced a 57-yard pass. Williams clearly is a big play waiting to happen.

He’s also comfortable in Riley’s offense. His long run was a read-option keeper. His long pass was a perfect throw up the left sideline to running back Jaden Knowles on a wheel route. Three of his five completions were to walk-on H-back Jackson Sumlin, which was Williams' third read in the route progression.

Williams might have overestimated his own speed on a comical goal-line keeper, on which he lost his footing and just fell down trying to get to the pylon. And he did miss a couple of open receivers, including a regrettable deep ball to childhood chum and fellow freshman Jalil Farooq, who was open behind the defense but caught the ball out of bounds.

Caleb Williams :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-Imagn Content Services, LLC

As one might expect from a true freshman, especially entering a 45-0 game in the third quarter, his game was not perfect. He fired high a couple times. He misread a read option that resulted in a 4-yard loss for Todd Hudson, rather than a big gainer for himself. But Williams did get four possessions and directed three scoring drives, including two that ended with touchdowns before giving way on the final drive to fellow freshman Ralph Rucker.

“I was proud of the way Caleb came in there and played,” Riley said. “Not, obviously, the easiest situation to go into sometimes, in that you don't have the full offense at your disposal and you obviously use clock. And I thought he handled it well, did a lot of good things.”

Not only did Williams have a watered down playbook because of the score, but he also was on the field with a backup offensive line, backup receivers and backup running backs. He was playing with other true freshmen and walk-ons and still stood out.

"I wasn't surprised at all," said wideout Jadon Haselwood. "He's a talented dude, man. He's actually like, a freak. "So he's gonna babe a good player for OU when it's his turn."

This time, at least, his night was a little more nuanced. In last week’s opener against Tulane, Williams got one play — a goal-line run — and scored a touchdown.

When he moved to Norman last fall and dual-enrolled at OU in the spring, it allowed him to quickly ascend the depth chart behind returning starter — and Heisman frontrunner — Spencer Rattler. Williams’ performance as the clear backup in his first Red / White Game was downright Baker Mayfield-esque: 10-of-11 for 99 yards and a touchdown pass, and led all players with 61 yards rushing on six carries. (Mayfield went 11-for-11 in his first spring game during his redshirt year.)

And that was against the Sooners’ No. 1 defense.

Williams has the kind of intrinsic leadership and moxie that teammates naturally follow. He was the point man on last summer’s “Sooner Summit,” which brought dozens of recruits from around the country to Norman during the pandemic shutdown. They gravitate to him.

Color Rattler impressed so far with his understudy — an understudy who’s ready to take the reins if some unforeseen scenario should befall Rattler.

“He did pretty good out there,” Rattler said. “He's a confident guy. Went out there, was ripping the ball and going through his reads. He made a couple of plays. He had that big run. It was a good run. That other one, he shouldn't have fallen down. But (laughs), it is what it is. He played a good game when he was in.”

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