In a one-on-one interview with News 9 sports director Dean Blevins, Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables was asked whether or not he expects true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams to be at Oklahoma this spring and in the 2022 season.
“Well, I do. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t, but you’d have to ask him. He’s a wonderful young man. He’s incredibly talented. I do believe that he and his family have tried to plant, you know, their roots right here and make this home. Hopefully, that’ll continue to be a huge part of who they are from a Sooner family and the connectivity that I feel like has been established. We need him,” Venables said.
Venables is hopeful that Oklahoma’s vision for the future meshes with Williams’ vision for the future.
“I think the best version of Caleb Williams combined with the supporting cast coaching, playing, offense, defense can be a wonderful marriage. He’s a wonderful young guy that’s got big dreams like all young people. Hopefully, him and their family feel like that we can help facilitate that. That again our values and his dreams are our dreams and so forth. Obviously, we want to be a great teammate, but he’s the face of our program moving forward,” Venables said.
Williams finished the regular season with 1,670 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns against just four interceptions. The 6-foot-1, 218 pound signal-caller has also rushed for six touchdowns thus far this season.
Those rushing touchdowns tend to come in explosive fashion, too. Against Texas, TCU, Kansas and Iowa State, Williams scored rushing touchdowns of 66, 41, 40 and 74 yards. The Washington, D.C., native had a 56-yard trot late in the Bedlam game as well.
In the Red River Showdown against Texas, Williams was the hero. He replaced then-starting quarterback Spencer Rattler and finished with 212 passing yards and a pair of passing touchdowns to wide receiver Marvin Mims of 14 and 52 yards to erase an early 28-7 deficit.
The Sooners wound up winning 55-48 in what was the rivalry’s largest comeback victory. Williams joined teammates Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis on their podcast titled “The Podcast on the Prairie” to revisit the epic rally.
“I had all the confidence going out there, but when I went in and he kept me in after that first drive, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s game time.’ So, we ended up going to halftime and before I walk out, I make sure I pump the fans up. Before I’m walking out, I’m throwing my hands up, pumping them up, making sure everybody’s up, making sure they see me, see my energy and things like that. I get to the locker room and I’m pretty sure y’all can remember I say to every single person in the locker room, ‘We’re going to win this game.’
“I go around shaking hands, shaking hands, shaking hands and I tell them we’re going to go win this game, coaches included. We go back out, we get back out on the field and we’re all locked in. We go out there with a certain energy and a certain passion and we go and do the unthinkable. I get chills every time I talk about the game. Every time. I get chills right now,” Williams said.
Williams will make his seventh career start against Oregon when the Sooners kick off at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
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