The pairing of the Oklahoma Sooners and former college football star quarterback Caleb Williams was going to happen no matter what. According to Lincoln Riley, former Sooners and current USC head coach, Oklahoma wasn’t originally going to take Williams onto the program. Williams didn’t plan on taking no for an answer, though, as Riley revealed on The Pat McAfee Show.
Evidently, the pairing worked out as Williams provided great insurance in his freshman season, which saw him show every bit of his superstar potential. While Williams just played one season at Oklahoma — his freshman year in 2021 — he made a big impact on the program. He played 11 games in a season that saw Spencer Rattler get benched, where he posted 1,912 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also rushed for 442 yards and six touchdowns on 79 attempts over the course of the season.
The opportunity couldn’t have been more perfect for Williams, all things considered. To think that he might not have attended Oklahoma, or done so as a walk-on, is quite absurd in retrospect.
Riley, who coached Williams for his lone season at Oklahoma and the two following years at USC, joined The Pat McAfee Show where he revealed the story of Williams being open to walking on if the scholarship offer didn’t go his way. The conversation came as Riley was asked about Williams and his departure to the NFL.
“The thing I’ve always appreciated about him is like, he’s always thinking about the next step,” Riley said. “And it’s always the big picture. You know, at Oklahoma, there was a time in the beginning where we weren’t going to take him and he said, well fine coach, I’ll just walk on. That’s his mindset. Like it’s always about that next step. And so he’s ready for this. He’s excited for it and we’re hoping he ends up in a great situation.”
Williams is arguably the best player in the 2024 NFL Draft and the former Sooner is almost guaranteed to be the first quarterback off the draft board.
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