Oklahoma football: Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams reunited? OUch!
By Chip Rouse
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What Oklahoma football fans have been most angered about since Lincoln Riley packed up and left the Palace on the Prairie may be coming to a bitter head this week.
It was one thing for Riley to up and leave the Sooner program, but the idea that he might take the OU freshman-sensation quarterback, Caleb Williams and other current and future Oklahoma playmakers with him was almost too much to bear.
Williams, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class reportedly visited USC this past weekend as part of his national tour searching out bigger and better options for his future development and was seen attending Sunday’s NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams at the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Now on Monday we learn the breaking news that soon-to-be sophomore USC quarterback Jaxson Dart has entered the transfer portal. Dart is the second USC quarterback to enter the transfer portal since Riley became the head coach of the Trojans, Earlier, Kedon Slovis, who was a starting QB for three seasons at USC, transferred to Pittsburgh.
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Read into this news what you will, but this is a pretty clear indication that the path is cleared for Williams to be reunited with Riley and become the new USC starting quarterback for the 2022 and ’23 seasons. Why two more seasons? Because by NFL rule, you must be three years removed from high school graduation before you can declare for the NFL Draft.
This is an ideal set up as far as Riley and USC are concerned. Riley also has a 2023 commitment from No, 1 quarterback prospect Malachi Nelson (formerly an Oklahoma commit), which would give Nelson a year behind Williams while the former learns the system and acclimates to college football at the FBS level.
To add insult to injury, former Sooner wide receiver Mario Williams, who openly acknowledges that he came to OU to play with Williams, also entered the transfer portal this offseason and is expected to follow Williams wherever he ultimately lands. Want to guess where that might be?
In seven quarterback starts for Oklahoma this past season as a true freshman, Williams passed for 1,912 yards with 212 touchdowns. He also ran the ball for 442 net yards and six additional touchdowns.
It’s all understandably hard to take if you’re an Oklahoma football fan, but that’s just life in the new free-agent, name-image-likeness world of college athletics. Of course, it’s easy to say stuff like this doesn’t happen at blue-blood programs like Oklahoma.
Well, now it has. Time to close the book, dispense with the anger and resentment and move on.
As the lyrics from the classic Broadway musical proudly proclaim:
“You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K.”