WATCH: Caleb Williams enters game, immediately scores 66-yard touchdown
The No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners have been struggling mightily against the No. 21 Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, and after the Longhorns took a 28-7 first-quarter lead, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley decided to replace starting quarterback Spencer Rattler with freshman Caleb Williams.
Considering the fact that Riley put in Williams for a fourth-and-1 play from Oklahoma’s own 34-yard line, it seems like Williams was put in the game as a mere change-of-pace option under center, rather than as a replacement to Rattler.
Rattler completed six of his 11 passing attempts for just 49 passing yards and an interception; Oklahoma’s only first-quarter touchdown came off a two-yard Rattler touchdown run. The second Rattler was taken out, however, Oklahoma’s offense found a new sparkplug in Williams.
Williams’ first play against Texas was a quarterback draw deep in the Sooners’ own territory. He evaded pressure at the line of scrimmage, shaking off a few Texas defenders, and turned on the jets. The 6-foot-1 quarterback from Washington D.C. took off for a 66-yard rushing touchdown, bringing Oklahoma within 14 points of Texas.
Months ago, before the college football season even began, Rattler was seen as the consensus favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. The former five-star recruit from Phoenix, Arizona was excellent for Oklahoma in his redshirt freshman year, starting all 11 games for the Sooners and leading all freshmen with 28 passing touchdowns. He entered the season as the favorite to win the Heisman, priced at 6-1, but has since faltered. Rattler and Oklahoma barely snuck past Tulane, winning by five, then by West Virginia, winning by three, and in the West Virginia game Rattler received boos from the home fans that wanted to see Williams enter the game.
Rattler has completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,260 passing yards, along with ten touchdown passes and four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns, too. Williams, on the other hand, has hardly played in 2021, serving in large part as a backup to Rattler. He has completed six of just 11 passing attempts on the season, good for 102 passing yards. Williams has also logged five rushes for 61 yards entering today, before he doubled his rushing total with one play.
Williams was the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the country, ranked a five-star recruit by all recruiting platforms. He was not able to play a 2020 season in high school due to COVID-19, but in his junior year he threw for 1,770 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, while rushing for 838 yards and 18 scores.