When Caleb Williams burst onto the scene against Texas, rallied against Kansas and tossed six touchdowns against Texas Tech, the former five-star recruit seemed positioned for a late Heisman run.
That is, until Oklahoma’s true freshman quarterback slipped up recently. Over the Sooners’ past two games, in which they’re 1-1, Williams is a pedestrian 17-of-36 passing for 229 yards. He’s delivered just three total touchdowns to three interceptions. In those games, OU has eclipsed its least amount of points and yards in Williams’ five starts.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley realizes his young play caller, who seemingly has yet to establish any kind of rhythm, has improvements to make in his sixth start against No. 7 Oklahoma State, but he isn’t worried. Although Williams’ next test is against the Cowboys, (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) whose defense ranks No. 3 nationally by allowing just over 267 yards per game this season, Riley thinks he’s trending in the right direction.
"They’re a very good defense,” Riley said. “I think the thing I would say for him is just, I think we need just a big stack of routine plays about him. And they certainly don’t make that easy. But the more routine plays that he can make, then I think the big ones from him and from other players on our offense will come that way.
“And honestly, when we’ve done that as an offense we’ve played pretty well. … We just need to be steady and go execute and not make a lot of mistakes, because you’re playing a group that has so many starts and has so much experience.”
Williams' expanding experience alone likely won’t be enough to stymie the vicious Cowboys defense. The players he’ll face Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Stillwater can’t wait for the chance to face an inexperienced quarterback, after tackling Riley’s First Team All-Big 12 passers the last six seasons.
Facing back-to-back first-year starters — TCU’s Chandler Morris and Texas Tech’s Donovan Smith — Oklahoma State has forced those quarterbacks to complete just 20 of their 49 passes for only 186 yards, with no touchdowns.
Williams’ ability to nail the basics could open up more of the highlight reel plays Oklahoma fans were accustomed to its new quarterback making when he initially replaced former starter Spencer Rattler.
“Are there times in some of these games, even the games he’s played well, where he’s overthought? Possibly,” Riley said Tuesday. “He’s a young guy. … The thing we need from him is to be consistent, to be steady and just make the routine play. … The steadier and more consistent he can play, then I think the more consistent as an offense we’ll play.”
Williams, who has run and thrown for long touchdowns this season, has also missed checkdowns. Perhaps he was trying to find the home run play, like when he threw an errant pass into double coverage against Baylor, which resulted in an interception on the first drive of the game.
However, redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall, who has played in four Bedlam matchups, has seen a different Williams this week in practice.
“In practice he seems to be getting better from it,” Hall said of Williams’ recent struggles. “He seems to be responding. So hopefully, eventually that switch will click and he’ll have a little bit more success and things will come a little bit more naturally to him.”
Riley’s confidence in Williams also comes from talented predecessors in Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield — Heisman Trophy winners become No. 1 NFL draft picks — also hitting rough patches as freshmen.
Despite the duo not becoming Riley’s pupils until after transferring from their former schools, he recalled that freshmen need time and repetition to grow into their true form. Mayfield and Murray left Texas Tech and Texas A&M, respectively, because they lost their starting jobs as freshmen.
Even when Williams struggles, he’s shown that his talent can take over games. The Washington, D.C., native has touchdown runs of 74, 40, 41 and 66 yards this season.
“Just by nature of his skill set and the way he plays he’s gonna always make a few spectacular plays,” Riley said. “He’s just kind of built that way. You’re gonna have a handful of those no matter what.”
Oklahoma, which has a decent chance at returning to a College Football Playoff if it can defeat Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks with the Big 12 Championship looming, will need its offensive headman to play beyond his years, despite turning 20 years old eight days ago.
“I still have a lot of confidence in him,” Riley said. “Because when he, and then we as an offense around him, have played at a high level ... we've played just as high level as we’ve ever played. Have we had some bouts of inconsistency? We have. But, my confidence comes from the progress that he’s making that I see on Saturdays and behind the scenes.”
