Sooner freshman QB has ‘that little kid joy’
NORMAN — Caleb Williams' debut as OU's starting quarterback wasn't without its flaws.
The freshman overthrew a pass or two, didn't make the right decision every time and there was plenty of space for growth moving forward.
But one thing the Sooners' new starter — and if there was any doubt at all Williams would be the guy at that position moving forward, it was quelled Saturday — did against TCU was be decisive.
In the Sooners' 52-31 win over the Horned Frogs, Williams didn't hesitate.
There was little restraint as he flung the ball all over the field.
He hit Jadon Haselwood for a pair of quick strikes on the opening drive and Marvin Mims on the sideline on plays that allowed for some room to run after the catch. He fired a bullet over the middle to Trevon West for a 35-yard gain early and another to Jeremiah Hall for the first of Williams’ four touchdown passes in the game.
That Williams is a true freshman is undeniable, as he became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Sooners since way back in 1990 when Cale Gundy, now the veteran of the Sooners’ coaching staff as the cooffensive coordinator and inside receivers coach, broke into the starting lineup for the first time.
But Williams certainly didn’t look like much of a freshman, completing 18 of his 23 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
In the second half, Williams became more of a game manager, throwing for just 34 yards as Kennedy Brooks took over.
In the first half, though, Williams made sure his receivers could be game-breakers by being forceful.
“Missed a few things here and there that he’ll continue to learn on and grow from (but) that’s always one of the big things for us as quarterbacks — that’s one of the number one things we hold our hats on — is being decisive,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said.
“I tell our guys that you know, if you’re decisive that even sometimes if you’re wrong as long as you’re decisive it can still work out. You can make the right decision a lot of times, but if you’re indecisive it can still not work with the speed of this game. That’s something we’ve tried to hang our hat on and, overall, Caleb did a good job of that.”
This wasn’t Williams catching lightning in a bottle like he did against Texas in a comeback for the ages.
This had the makings of a sustainable offensive pathway forward after the offense showed little consistency before Williams came on in replacement of Spencer Rattler in the second quarter against the Longhorns.
Riley seemed loathe to heap too much credit on Williams.
Asked to evaluate the new QB’s performance, he praised the offensive line and mentioned he expected Rattler would’ve performed similarly well given the opportunity. Riley also bemoaned the week-long storyline surrounding Williams’ ascension and Rattler’s demise that included the student paper surreptitiously watching practice and media availabilities canceled late in the week as a result.
But as against Texas, it was blatantly obvious with Williams at the helm, for whatever reason — and the Sooners’ offensive woes early in the season certainly can’t all be laid at Rattler’s feet — OU’s offense was just different.
Riley might not have wanted to admit it, for plenty of reasons, but it was palpable against TCU for just as many reasons.
“When you see a quarterback do that … he can run,” running back Kennedy Brooks, who turned in his second consecutive big game, said. “He just takes pressure off of me knowing that there are two people that can run the ball out of the backfield.”
That’s a piece of it.
So, too, is the way Williams took control of the team from the start.
Riley’s Sooners quarterbacks before Rattler — Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts — each had different but easily recognizable personalities that drew people toward them.
Maybe Rattler has that as well, but with Williams — like those other three — it’s obvious watching from the stands, the press box or home on the couch.
“The way you guys see him jumping on the sideline, he’s like that every single day,” Sooners safety Pat Fields said. “He has that little kid joy for the game. I say that because it’s so important because a lot of guys, they get tired of practicing. They get tired of the grind. But for him, he’s just excited every single day.”