Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams enters transfer portal

Updated Dec. 13, 2022 10:42 a.m. ET

The Oklahoma Sooners have now lost both their coach and their quarterback from last season –– potentially.

Caleb Williams –– who started seven games for the Sooners this past season as a true freshman after wresting the job from returner Spencer Rattler, who has since transferred to South Carolina –– announced Monday on social media that he will enter the transfer portal, but he didn't rule out the possibility of returning to the Sooners next season.

Williams said he wants to find the program that offers the "best preparation and development for my future career."

Williams was an All-Big 12 second-team selection who completed 64.6% of his passes for 1,916 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions as a freshman. He also rushed for 442 yards and six scores on 79 carries.

He holds the OU freshman record for passing yards and TDs, and after replacing Rattler in the Sooners' matchup with rival Texas, he led the Sooners to their largest comeback victory in Red River Showdown history, after they trailed by 21 points.

Williams' six TD passes against Texas Tech on Oct. 30 tied the Oklahoma freshman record and were the most ever by an OU true freshman. In the process, he became only the third Sooners QB with at least six passing TDs and no interceptions in a game (Baker Mayfield seven TDs vs. Texas Tech in 2016, Kyler Murray six TDs vs. Baylor in 2018).

It has been an offseason of turnover for Oklahoma.

On Nov. 28, former head coach Lincoln Riley left Norman and accepted the vacant head-coaching position at USC after spending five seasons at the helm of the OU program and winning four Big 12 titles.

Oklahoma hired former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables to fill the position, and the key cog in the machine for Venables' transition figured to be Williams.

Now, it's up in the air whether Venables will have the luxury of coaching the soon-to-be sophomore wunderkind.

Although Williams has yet to set a destination, rumors have already begun to swirl where he could potentially land. And with the NIL now in play, money could play a major factor.

"These schools have powerful boosters and big bucks," Skip Bayless said Tuesday on "Undisputed. "They will live and die for their skill, and they're willing to pay money. The sky is the limit for [Williams]. I'm a big fan. He exploded on the scene, saved the game against Texas, and had those four straight games. He's a talented young man with two more years of eligibility. He's going to get his highest bid, and go back to Norman and say, ‘This is what I’ve been offered. Do you want to match or top it?'"

For Bayless, Williams' move is another shift of the needle toward empowering the student athlete. And he's all for it.

"I love it for the kids. You go with the highest bidder and if you don't like it there, you can go back in the portal. You don't have to sign for one year, two years, three. He's playing the field and I can't hate it. You've got free agency in college football."

Shannon Sharpe was in agreement.

"Now, these kids have an opportunity to control their destiny," he said.

"Hell, these coaches do it all the time. Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly just did it. This kid [Williams] came to Oklahoma for Lincoln Riley. He's from DC! He saw the success of Lincoln Riley: Baker Mayfield, No. 1 overall, Kyler Murray, No. 1 overall, Jalen Hurts went in the second round. He said well, ‘You got those guys ready, you can get me ready.’ I don't have a problem with this."

One bit of good news for Oklahoma is the fact that former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel –– who committed to transferring to UCLA –– flipped his commitment to Oklahoma on Monday.

This is a developing story.