Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams officially enters transfer portal

Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams officially entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. The move has been anticipated since Monday, when the freshman announced his intention to do so on social media.

According to Yahoo Sports Pete Thamel, the family is on vacation this week and will take their time making an announcement. Carl Williams, also explained that his son, Caleb Williams, has not picked out a destination. And the key thing that they are focusing on when it comes to school selections is preparation to become an NFL quarterback.

Williams’ ascension to stardom was one of the more positive storylines to come out of the 2021 Sooners season. He took over for Spencer Rattler in the Red River Rivalry game against Texas, leading Oklahoma to a 21-point comeback and 55-48 victory.

After that, the freshman remained the starting quarterback to finish out the season. He threw for 1,912 yards and scored 27 total touchdowns as Oklahoma closed the year with an 11-2 record.

Williams came to Oklahoma as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Transfer portal information 

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. If a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.