Oklahoma officially announces Caleb Williams as starting quarterback

There’s no ambiguity in Norman this week. The 7-0 Oklahoma Sooners listed freshman quarterback Caleb Williams as the starting quarterback on the Week 8 depth chart.

Despite Williams’ ascension, it’s still likely that Spencer Rattler gets some snaps on Saturday as the Sooners take on the 1-5 Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks are 129th out of 130 in scoring defense, giving up 43.3 points per game.

Caleb Williams, On3’s No. 1 prospect in the 2021 class, would need to put up more than 295 passing yards to hit a new season (and career) high.

This week’s decision by head coach Lincoln Riley comes with a lot less drama. Leading into last week’s TCU game, a report from Oklahoma’s student newspaper revealed 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 Texas game for Rattler early in the second quarter in Week 5. He served 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.

Caleb 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 earns Big-12 Offensive Player of the Week

As spectacular as his comeback performance was versus Texas, Caleb Williams outdid himself versus TCU in Week 7.

The Oklahoma quarterback was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.

“Williams became the first Oklahoma true freshman to start a game at quarterback since 1990 and just the fifth overall. He led the No. 4 Sooners to a 52-31 win over TCU for their nation-leading 15th straight victory,” wrote the conference in the announcement. “Williams completed 18 of 23 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns without an interception (243.4 passer rating) and ran nine times for 66 yards, including a 41-yard score. He accounted for as many touchdowns (five) as he had incompletions.

“His 295 passing yards and four passing TDs both set OU true freshman records as the Sooners finished with 525 total yards and averaged a season-high 9.1 yards per play. His 261 passing yards in the first half were the most by an OU true freshman quarterback in any half in program history.”

Despite a late start to the season, Williams has the sixth-best odds in Vegas to win the Heisman Trophy.