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The last month and a half has been filled with surprising story lines facing the Oklahoma Sooners. Lincoln Riley’s decision to leave the Oklahoma Sooners for the USC Trojans has sent ripples through the Oklahoma Sooners program.
Though they have recovered with a new head coach and a promising 2022 recruiting class, the Sooners are still feeling the effects of Riley’s departure with Caleb Williams’ decision to enter the transfer portal.
In reaction to Williams transfer portal move, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on the move, calling it “one of the most amazing moves in college football history.”
We now have free agency in college football. It’s as simple as that… Caleb Williams was the top player in the country a year ago. He shows up at Oklahoma and what does he do? He supplants Spencer Rattler who’s the Heisman favorite. Not the No. 2 guy, but the favorite. And now Rattler is gone and maybe Williams. I don’t know exactly what he’s doing, whether he’s leveraging this, but this is one of the most amazing moves in college football history. This guy is probably projected to be the No. 1 pick in the draft two years from now in the draft and now he’s waiting to see what comes his way. What kind of offers, what kind of deals. That’s the new normal in college football.” – Finebaum, ESPN
After Caleb Williams overtook Spencer Rattler as the starting quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners, it appeared OU was on the verge of the next quarterback era. Riley’s move to USC has thrown all of those plans into upheaval as Williams decided to see what the transfer portal might have to offer.
The Sooners responded with the acquisition of Dillon Gabriel to, at the very least be a fall-back option if Williams does indeed transfer. However, as Finebaum mentions, it’s a move that has sent shockwaves throughout college football as the 2021 season comes to an end.
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