Skip to main content
You are the owner of this article.
Edit Article Add New Article
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit

LATEST

ALERT

Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Air temperatures as high as 105 and heat indices as high as
110. Overnight lows only drop to around 80 each morning.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, northwest, southeast,
southern, southwest, and western Oklahoma and northern Texas.

* WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT Friday.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose
fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning
or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and
heat stroke.

&&

OU football: Who is Caleb Williams? He’s not allowed to say yet, but fashion choices, Lincoln Riley lend some insight

Caleb Williams

Freshman quarterback Caleb Williams during the game against Texas Tech on Oct. 30.

 Trey Young/The Daily

The Sooners escaped a pre-Halloween home scare and put up serious numbers against the Red Raiders. Check out our highlights from the 52-21 victory:

Filmed by Justin Jayne and Collin McDaniel

Edited by Justin Jayne

Like much of college football, Lincoln Riley has noticed Caleb Williams’ painted fingernails.

“I've gotten to know the kid pretty well, but that's some of the quirks about his personality,” Riley said Tuesday amid his team’s bye week. “He's got some fashion quirks and obviously some funky fingernail paintings. But hey, everybody's got their thing, right?”

Riley later joked Williams should varnish his claws with the emblems of Muleshoe High, the smalltown Texas school that raised OU’s head coach. Recently, Williams sported finger paint that featured another livestock mascot. Ahead of the Sooners’ game against Texas, where he stunned the nation by replacing Spencer Rattler and leading a 55-48 comeback victory, he painted his nails with “Horns Down” symbols and “FU UT,” taking a jab at his team’s chief rival.

Williams’ unique swagger extends to his pregame outfits, which have ranged from vests and flannels to jerseys, jackets and anything in between. He has also displayed a variety of flashy shoes this season. Right now, Williams’ evolving style is one of few windows into his life beyond football.

Caleb Williams' fits

Though Williams has thrown for 1,189 yards and 14 touchdowns in just four games, Riley has barred him from interviews, citing OU's long-standing policy that prohibits freshmen from speaking to the media. After the come-from-behind victory over Texas, Riley denied ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe’s request to interview Williams. Rowe then apologized to Williams, who she said expected to be interviewed.

“It's been our rule, and I'm not typically one to pull something in the middle of the season,” Riley said about Williams’ unavailability. “I'm always open to looking at new things, and if there's something I think that could help players or help our program, I certainly wouldn't avoid taking a look at it, but I've just never been one to want to change much right in the middle of it.

“So, we'll see how it evolves. I mean, if I see at some point that it'd be beneficial for our team or just makes a lot of sense to do it, I'll look at it, but right now I think we're gonna stick with where our policy is. … I can't just do it just because people want to talk to him. And I understand that everybody does. I understand that's their jobs, too. But the first first description of my job is to do the best thing I can for the team and for the individuals within it.”

According to Riley, controlling Williams’ media appearances is not about “power” or “ego” but the principle of teaching freshmen how to handle such situations, and also requiring them to earn interviews with reporters.

Arguably, Williams has earned that right by surging to Heisman Trophy candidacy — he currently has the fifth-best odds to win college football’s most prestigious award — and amassing two Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week accolades. He was also named Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week Tuesday after throwing for 402 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-21 blowout of Texas Tech on Saturday.

Yet, Riley still holds the freshman phenom’s tongue, and has seemed reluctant to praise him at times.

For his part, Williams’ father Carl politely declined an interview with Sports Illustrated in October, and said the family is comfortable with Riley’s policy. Though he won’t put Williams at the podium, Riley was more candid about the budding star on Tuesday than he has been perhaps all season.

“Honestly I think he's a lot like what you see on game day,” Riley said. “He's a very unique kid. … He does a good job relating to different people. … He can have a conversation with my 5-year-old. He can have a conversation with anybody on our team and have a conversation with an adult and interact and be very personable. So he's got a unique ability to connect with different kinds of people.

“He's a football guy. I mean, he really is into it, puts a lot of time into it (and) is very driven, but also can laugh, can joke, can have some fun, and then he takes it seriously. … He's got a pretty good feel for a young guy of, he can be pretty serious and pretty into it, but also, it doesn't tense him up and there's certainly a relaxed side of him too. So yeah, hopefully that gives you some insight. He's a neat kid. He really has got a cool personality and a good way about him.”

OU Daily standards

See an error? Earning trust is our duty. We correct errors atop stories. Identify an error, request a takedown or get in touch.

Independent and free since 1916: OU is committed to our editorial independence. You can help ensure our reporting remains strong and accessible to all invested in OU and Norman.

Want to comment? We value dialogue on issues we cover. On our social media accounts, we moderate disparagements, arguments and attacks, including those directed at our staff — and ban those repeatedly failing civility. The editor considers guest column submissions.