Opinion: Don't be angry with Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams for entering the transfer portal
Caleb Williams has entered the transfer portal. When will the plagues of Egypt end for Sooner football?
OU lost its Heisman magic. Lost its hypnotic hold on the College Football Playoff committee. Lost Bedlam. Lost its grip on the Big 12 championship. Lost its coach. Now could lose its quarterback.
Somebody inside the gates on Lindsey Street please tell Moses that he and his people are free to go.
Williams is OU’s most recent quarterback sensation and the building block for the launch of the Brent Venables era. Williams announced Monday that he had entered the portal, so that he would be free to talk with other schools.
Welcome to college football free agency. And remember, OU fans. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.
For all I know, Williams will return. In his released statement, Williams said that was possible, and no reason not to believe him. He’s just checking all his options.
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Williams certainly did all the right things leading up to Monday, from cheering at basketball games to grabbing receiver Jalil Farooq during the Alamo Bowl, to keep him from a senseless scrum. Just playing in San Antonio was the best evidence that Williams at least retains some devotion to the Sooners.
But this is 2022. The whole danged world has become migratory, especially for young people, and college football is not immune.
Williams’ decision to take his talents to the marketplace is tied in with Name/Image/Likeness. In other words, show me the money.
Don’t be upset with Williams. He’s not swimming upstream. He’s just floating down a lazy river.
I mean, just in recent months, OU has skipped out on the Big 12 for Southeastern Conference riches. Lincoln Riley jumped to Southern Cal for a reported $10 million a year. Glittering multi-million-dollar facilities are torn down to make way for bigger and better digs.
And players are supposed to not hop aboard the gravy train? They’ve been well taught this is a business, this is a big business, and it’s kooky to want the players to stay on the sideline and not cash in.
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Heck, the portal is a way for Williams to prove his loyalty to OU. Just like in the old days of professional sports, when athletes were tied to their original team no matter what, there was no loyalty. Loyalty is when someone sticks around when they don’t have to.
OU will pull out all the financial stops available to keep Williams. But truth is, the Sooners probably can be outbid by a variety of schools. The cattle are bigger and the oil deeper in other American frontiers.
If Williams ends up staying in crimson and cream, Sooner Nation’s devotion should be stronger than ever.
And if Williams goes, welcome to college football in the 2020s. Riley jumped. The Sooners themselves jumped. Why not Williams? Heck, put the NIL aside. Riley’s kingdom was built on transfer QBs. Baker Mayfield left Texas Tech without immediate eligibility, and he was playing as a true freshman in Lubbock. Kyler Murray came from Texas A&M. Jalen Hurts from Alabama.
The same roads that bring great quarterbacks to Norman can take great quarterbacks out of Norman. Those roads are going to be more crowded. Players are late to the party in the marketplace, but they have arrived.
Berry Tramel can be reached at btramel@oklahoman.com.