Perrion Winfrey delivers surprising defense of Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams

On3 imageby:Wade Peery02/16/22

Former Oklahoma star defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey recently shined at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Winfrey took home MVP honors during the game, after racking up five tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sacks. Recently, the former Sooner star took some time to speak with Carl Reed of 247Sports to talk about preparing for the 2022 NFL Draft, his time at Oklahoma, his thoughts on former Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley, and former OU quarterback Caleb Williams.

Reed opened up the questions by asking Winfrey his thoughts on Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma to become the head coach at USC.

Sooner Nation obviously doesn’t agree with it, but man, number one Lincoln Riley has done so much for my career. I can’t even begin to bash him because I know what type of man he is personally and the things he has done to change my life,” the 6-foot-4, 292-pounder said.

“So like, yeah, we might be trolling on Twitter and stuff but I know Lincoln Riley is a great man. He made the decision that he thought was best for his family and I can’t knock him for that. Because at the end of the day, he wants to see me win and I want to see him win.”

Then he spoke in-depth about his former teammate, current USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

“Then I would say Caleb Williams, it was just opportunity man. He’s a young kid and [there] was just way more opportunity out there in LA….I can’t blame him. Obviously, I wanted him to stay with our University, but man he’s been out there for a day and he’s already on Good Morning America. Already got a Beats sponsorship. You can just see with the opportunity the doors that opened for him. I ain’t mad at either one of them. At the end of the day, it’s about the paper, getting paid, and doing what’s best for your family, and what should be best for your business.”

Winfrey did a good job of wishing nothing but the best for his former teammate and coach. He makes some great points, but there’s no question that the Oklahoma fan base won’t forget Riley and Williams leaving Norman for Los Angeles anytime soon.

Caleb Williams lived up to the hype and then some as a freshman this season for the Sooners

Williams was the top-rated overall prospect in On3’s 2022 Transfer Portal Rankings. He was also the No. 1 overall prospect in the On300 coming out of Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) for the 2021 recruiting cycle. As a freshman, Williams exploded onto the scene against the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry. He danced around the Texas defense to the tune of 300 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns in lifting the Sooners to the largest comeback in Red River Rivalry history, 55-48. For the 2021-2022 season, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,912 passing yards, while tossing in 21 touchdowns and four interceptions. As a runner, he ran 79 times for 442 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.