On ESPN’s Debatable, Mike Golic Jr. discussed Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams’ incredible fourth and 1 play where he snatched the football from OU running back Kennedy Brooks and picked up the first down.
.@mikegolicjr on Caleb Williams’ ‘outstanding instinct play’ vs. Kansas: https://t.co/rwKf1D3KSK
— Josh Helmer (@JoshOnREF) October 25, 2021
Golic Jr. had this to say about Williams’ heroics:
Offensively and in this situation, hell no I’ve never seen this. And the reason I’m saying, ‘made a smart play’ is because I don’t believe Caleb Williams knew that in this instance on fourth down it could be a legal handoff behind the line of scrimmage that wasn’t somehow a penalty in this play versus if it had happened downfield. Caleb made an outstanding instinct play right here. He knew it was fourth down and he knew, hey, we had to get one yard come hell or high water and so he grabbed that thing and went for it there. – Golic, ESPN’s Debatable
Without hearing from Williams himself, it’s impossible to say exactly what he was thinking in the moment. Brooks did have this to say about their memorable connection late against Kansas.
“I felt somebody tugging at it and then I saw it was Caleb, so I knew that I couldn’t get tackled with the ball so I gave it to Caleb. Only thing I wasn’t sure about was if I was behind the line of scrimmage or in front of it, but I felt like I was behind it and I knew it was fourth down so I was like, ‘I can’t get tackled with the ball’ so I just gave the ball to Caleb and hopefully he can get the first down,” Brooks said.
Whether instinct or awareness, the pair combined to author up one of the highlight-reel plays of this season for the Sooners.
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