Kirk Herbstreit makes bold statement on Caleb Williams
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley waited until the last possible second to name his starting quarterback, making it public that true freshman Caleb Williams would get the start just moments before kickoff against TCU, but the freshman delivered.
Williams complteed 18 of his 23 passing attempts on the day, good for 295 passing yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 66 yards and another touchdown. His performance led the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners to yet another victory, this one, a 52-31 final, bringing their record on the season to 7-0.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t just like what he sees in Williams, he loves it. Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday with his thoughts, suggesting that Williams appears to be a generational talent.
“Whelp. 13 [Williams] in Norman is a rare and special talent that makes everyone around him better,” Herbstreit said. “26 years of doing this..having a hard time remembering a true freshman inserted in the middle of the year having this kind of impact on his entire team.”
Herbstreit has a point. Williams was thrust into the starting lineup midway through the Texas game, and he helped Oklahoma pull off an enormous come-from-behind victory to save its undefeated record, and perhaps even its College Football Playoff hopes. On Saturday against TCU, Williams did more than enough to prove he should keep that spot.
Oklahoma quarterback debate
Last week was a hectic one at Oklahoma, just days removed from a come-from-behind victory, 55-48 victory over Texas, which sparked quarterback speculation across the country. After a report from Oklahoma’s student newspaper that Williams was taking first-team snaps, Riley abruptly cancelled Oklahoma’s media availability, only to further instigate his quarterback debate.
Williams was first put into the game for preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Spencer Rattler early in the second quarter last week, serving primarily as a change-of-pace option under center. He proceeded to run for a 66-yard rushing touchdown, igniting the Oklahoma offense while trailing 28-7.
Rattler — who was benched in last year’s Red River Showdown, too — came back into the game on the very next drive, but Oklahoma faltered. On the sixth play of the drive, Rattler fumbled the ball and set up another Texas touchdown, which ended up being his last drive of the day. He finished with just eight of 15 pass completions for 111 passing yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a fumble, and the true freshman, Williams, took over in his absence.
Williams ended up leading the Oklahoma Sooners to victory in spectacular fashion, completing 16 of his 25 passing attempts for 212 passing yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Moreover, the speedy quarterback added 88 rushing yards on just four carries, including the long touchdown run.
Williams lacked experience, but Rattler fell short of Oklahoma expectations
Months ago, before the college football season even began, Rattler was seen as the consensus favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. The former five-star recruit from Phoenix, Arizona was excellent for Oklahoma in his redshirt freshman year, starting all 11 games for the Sooners and leading all freshmen with 28 passing touchdowns. He entered the season as the favorite to win the Heisman, priced at 6-1, but has since faltered. Rattler and Oklahoma barely snuck past Tulane, winning by five, then by West Virginia, winning by three, and in the West Virginia game Rattler received boos from the home fans that wanted to see Williams enter the game.
Entering the game against Texas, Rattler had completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,260 passing yards, along with ten touchdown passes and four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns, too. Williams, on the other hand, had hardly played in 2021 prior to the win over Texas, serving in large part as a backup to Rattler. He has completed six of just 11 passing attempts on the season, good for 102 passing yards. Williams has also logged five rushes for 61 yards entering today, before he doubled his rushing total with one play.
Williams was the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the country, ranked a five-star recruit by all recruiting platforms. He was not able to play his last season of high school due to COVID-19, but in his junior year he threw for 1,770 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, while rushing for 838 yards and 18 scores.