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A Weekend's Worth of Reactions to Caleb Williams' Much-Anticipated Commitment

Bob Stoops, Adrian Peterson, Kyler Murray among a throng of icons to welcome Williams to Oklahoma
Parker Thune|
A Weekend's Worth of Reactions to Caleb Williams' Much-Anticipated Commitment
A Weekend's Worth of Reactions to Caleb Williams' Much-Anticipated Commitment

If somehow you made it all the way to July 4 without hearing Caleb Williams' name, you've certainly heard it by now.

There's perhaps no commit in Oklahoma history who dealt with as much hype and scrutiny as the five-star quarterback prospect from Washington, D.C. But as of Saturday night, he's officially Norman-bound, much to the delight of Sooner Nation.

CBS Sports aired taped congratulations from Adrian Peterson immediately following Williams' commitment. Peterson, Oklahoma's highest-rated signee in history, now plays his professional ball just a few miles from Williams' residence.

Peterson was the first Sooner legend to welcome Williams to the family, but he wouldn't be the last. Not much more than half an hour after Williams committed, Lincoln Riley tweeted a nine-minute video detailing Oklahoma's legendary lineage at the quarterback position.

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma's most recent Heisman Trophy winner, quoted Riley's video with his cheers to Williams.

Murray wasn't the only former Oklahoma signal-caller to chime in. Trevor Knight quoted Riley's video, calling the Sooners the "best in the business" at developing quarterbacks.

Oklahoma cornerbacks coach Roy Manning, already fired up about an earlier commitment from four-star DB Latrell McCutchin, took it up a notch after Williams' announcement.

Meanwhile, outside linebackers coach Jamar Cain delivered a simple but poignant sentiment.

Assistant head coach Shane Beamer was pumped up to welcome Williams home as well.

Bob Stoops joined in on the fun come Sunday morning.

Williams received plenty of acknowledgements from outside the Sooner family as well. Ex-NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels, an Iowa State alumnus, gave his best wishes.

Trent Dilfer, just three days removed from awarding Williams the 2020 Elite11 MVP trophy, took to his Twitter page to offer his regards.

And late Sunday evening, Skip Bayless jumped on Twitter to congratulate Williams.

Emeka Egbuka, the top wide receiver in the 2021 class, hit up Williams as well.

Williams' response to the five-star wideout was straightforward and to the point.

Williams had a similar challenge for four-star 2021 defensive back Donovan McMillon, a heavy target in the secondary for Oklahoma.

Williams' pledge could open the floodgates for OU to land a gaggle of elite 2021 prospects, with Egbuka and Camar Wheaton the top two priorities therein. Per 247Sports, Williams is the third highest-rated commit in Oklahoma history, behind only Peterson and Rhett Bomar. 

But it isn't just his phenomenal talent that makes him a game-changer for the Sooner program. Williams' relationships with other top prep players across the country make him a very effective secondary recruiter, and he's repeatedly expressed his desire to accumulate as much talent within his own 2021 recruiting class as possible.

Caleb Williams wants to win national titles. It's evident that Riley and the Sooners aren't far off from that goal. Now it's merely a matter of adding the final pieces to the championship puzzle.

And though Oklahoma has their quarterback of the future, the work won't stop until national signing day in December.

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Parker Thune
PARKER THUNE

I'm an award-winning journalist and broadcaster born in Texas and raised in Nebraska. I moved south several years ago to attend the University of Oklahoma, and I've been on staff with SI Sooners since March 2020.

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