Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Nine reasons Caleb Williams made right choice in OU

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 07: A general view of the stadium during the Iowa State game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Iowa State defeated Oklahoma 38-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - OCTOBER 07: A general view of the stadium during the Iowa State game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Iowa State defeated Oklahoma 38-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 28: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners carries the ball against the defense of the LSU Tigers.  (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 28: Quarterback Jalen Hurts #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners carries the ball against the defense of the LSU Tigers.  (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

There was plenty of concern and some despair around the Oklahoma football program when New Year’s Day rolled around this year.

Four days earlier, the Sooners had suffered through a 63-28 smackdown by the 2019 national champion LSU Tigers, and then on New Year’s Day they learned that their five-star quarterback recruit for 2021 decided he didn’t want to stay committed to Oklahoma.

Brock Vandagriff was the top-ranked pro-style quarterback and the No. 8 player overall in the 2021 recruiting class. He had been committed to the Sooners since March of 2019, but over that period of time he decided that playing that far away from his home state of Georgia would be too much of a hardship, so he opted out of his non-binding verbal commitment.

A couple of weeks afterword, the one-time Oklahoma commit found a new landing place with the University of Georgia, a little over 10 miles from his home in Bogart, Georgia.

That dark moment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Sooner football, because Lincoln Riley and his staff turned their full attention to the recruitment of Caleb Williams, rated the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the same 2021 class as Vandagriff and the No. 8 player overall.

Williams made a visit to Oklahoma in late September 2019, even while Vandagriff was still committed to the Sooners, but it was his third visit to Norman, along with his parents, right before the COVID-19 outbreak shut down OU’s spring practice and all NCAA spring sports that proved to be the tipping point in his recruitment decision..

Williams didn’t commit to Oklahoma until July 4, but in reality he pretty much knew what that decision would be after his March 5 visit. Williams made an immediate connection with Riley, and his parents came away impressed with what they saw and heard from Riley and his staff — not just the athletic opportunity, but academically as well.

Williams was wearing a No. 9 Sooner jersey in the Twitter message he sent out announcing his long-anticipated commitment. If that indeed is the number that is assigned to him when he officially becomes an Oklahoma Sooner, he will join the likes of former OU QB Trevor Knight, WRs Mark Clayton, Juaquin  Iglesias and even CeeDee Lamb for one season, and LB Kenneth Murray who also wore that number.

Here are nine reasons why Williams made the right decision in choosing Oklahoma, in no particular order:

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