USC Football QB Caleb Williams set the record straight after a reporter and others misinterpreted his father’s statements about leaving Oklahoma.
The nature of Caleb Williams’ Oklahoma departure for USC is still the subject of online debate, months after it all went down.
On Sunday, the quarterback himself decided to clear things up a little after Mike Farrell called the idea that Williams was allegedly evicted from OU by Sooners fans was “beyond ridiculous.”
“Reaction to that? Mine is – this is beyond ridiculous. child was gone. And entering the portal and not expecting OU to get another QB is ridiculous,” Farrell tweeted.
USC-Soccer: Caleb Williams calls reporter to Oklahoma comment
Williams didn’t let Farrell’s tweet sit without comment.
“Do you want to do that? The fans and my old teammates are the reason I almost stayed!” Williams quoted Farrell tweeting, correcting “done” to “down” in another tweet.
The graphic Farrell posted with his first tweet, with a graphic that said, “Caleb Williams Dad Says OU Fans Driven His Son Away.”
This idea appears to have come from a Los Angeles Times profile on Williams, but it’s also a pretty big misreading of the quotes.
In the article, Carl Williams said, “We didn’t know what we were going to do. And honestly, when we went to the portal, Oklahoma was at the top of the list. But they did some things that weren’t in his best interests.”
Caleb backed this up with his tweet saying he almost stayed in Norman because of the fans and his teammates. Some won’t believe him, but it’s not crazy to think that just weeks into his life, a 19-year-old wasn’t sure what he was going to do knowing it was uncertain.
It seems the split in all of this was the new Oklahoma staff trying to pressure Caleb into making a quick decision to stay rather than considering his options. The Sooners picked up Dillon Gabriel from UCF the same day the quarterback entered the portal. Essentially, they moved on.
Carl lamented the way fans were “suddenly targeting his son,” along with “all the vitriol about Caleb capitalizing on his transfer decision.”
In profile, everyone around Caleb reiterated that money wasn’t a factor in his transfer.
“From Auburn to Wisconsin all the way back to Oklahoma, I didn’t care. I knew wherever I went I was going to get NIL,” Caleb said.
From the start, the Williams camp have insisted his professional development was the driving force behind his move. It was important to the family to go through the process of determining where he could best be placed for NFL success. USC turned out to be the answer, but why is it so hard to believe that a player and his family would seriously consider all of their options before making a life-changing decision?
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