Kirk Herbstreit doubles down on Heisman Trophy watch for Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams has become the talk of college football after becoming Oklahoma’s starting quarterback last month. Heisman Trophy buzz has come with it — notably from ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who doubled down on it this week.

Williams, a true freshman, took over for Spencer Rattler in the Sooners’ win over Texas and put together some solid performances since taking over as the starting quarterback. His biggest game came last week against Texas Tech when he completed 23 of 30 passes for 402 yards and six touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 52-21 win over the Red Raiders.

That’s why Herbstreit’s still sold on Williams as a Heisman contender — even despite some big performances around college football.

“Everyone’s talking about him being a front-runner next year,” Herbstreit said on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “I know Kenneth Walker took a big step. This guy, Caleb Williams, this year — with Baylor and Oklahoma State still coming up out there — he’s going to have a big stage and big moments. That performance seemed to kind of go under the radar, but that kid’s just getting better and better each week out.”

“He’s must-see TV,” Herbstreit’s co-host Matt Barrie said. “You have to see what he’s doing. … Caleb Williams, right now, is the must-see player in the country.”

Lincoln Riley assesses the play of Caleb Williams in Oklahoma win

Following Williams’ record-setting performance, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley offered some tempered praise. Williams helped lead the Sooners to a dominant 52-21 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday to improve to 9-0.

He finished with 402 yards passing and six touchdowns. His yardage broke the OU freshman record that he himself set in Week 7 against TCU.

“He settled in and did some good things,” Riley said. “He didn’t have a great first series, he missed a couple of throws. But I thought he had a really clear mind the entire way. He did a really nice job in things around the pocket. His pace was good. I thought we operated a little more efficiently with him in. There have just been some small things that have held us back from an operational standpoint that we needed to clean up. He did much better.”

Williams, the No. 1 overall player in On3’s class of 2021 rankings, earned his first start of the season against TCU. The move came after he replaced starter Spencer Rattler in the Red River Rivalry game to lead the Sooners back from 21 down.

The freshman is a combined 46-of-73 for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns in his three starts. After a slow start to the season, the Sooners offense has now put up at least 50 points in three of the past four games.

Rattler saw his first action since being benched late in the fourth quarter Saturday against Texas Tech. On just his second pass, he connected with Brian Darby for a 42-yard touchdown.