Oklahoma's Caleb Williams enters transfer portal

The college football world experienced tremors on Monday as Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams announced he is entering the transfer portal. This season has been incredible, Williams wrote on Twitter. Words cant describe the amount of love I have for my teammates, coaches and the Sooner Nation. The support everyone has shown me couldnt be more

The college football world experienced tremors on Monday as Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams announced he is entering the transfer portal.

“This season has been incredible,” Williams wrote on Twitter. “Words can’t describe the amount of love I have for my teammates, coaches and the Sooner Nation. The support everyone has shown me couldn’t be more appreciated, you guys are the best.”

Williams beat out Spencer Rattler, formerly the most highly touted recruit in the country, for the starting quarterback job this season. Rattler entered the transfer portal in November, and ultimately committed to South Carolina.

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley departed for USC in November, and the Sooners hired former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as his replacement.

Williams mentioned “recent changes” in his note — a clear reference to Riley’s exit — and said he hasn’t ruled out a return to Oklahoma, but that entering the portal is the only way he can legally hear what other programs would have to offer.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione and Venables released a statement saying they “will continue to be engaged with [Williams] and his family on a comprehensive plan for his development as a student and quarterback, including a path to graduation and strategic leveraging of NIL opportunities.”

Those NIL opportunities — meaning name, image and likeness, which NCAA athletes are newly permitted to capitalize on — are going to drive a lot of player movement in college athletics, potentially creating a whole new paradigm.

Oklahoma will have a lot of competition for Williams in their attempt to retain him. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports says Williams will “be the most sought after player in the portal.”

Speaking to Thamel, Williams’ father Carl said his son does not have a destination decided upon, and that he is going to go to the program that he feels will best prepare him to be a professional quarterback.

“Professional development. We want Caleb to be ready to play when he becomes a pro. You go to college to get prepared for your career,” Carl Williams told Thamel. “His chosen career path is professional football. We want him to be prepared for when that time comes.”

Williams, 20, completed 64.6 percent of his passes for Oklahoma this season, throwing for 1,916 yards and 21 touchdowns to four interceptions.

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