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Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams named to Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2021

Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams captivated the college football world when he burst onto the scene at the Red River Showdown and spearheaded a wild Sooners’ rally over Texas.

In that 55-48 win over the Longhorns, Williams took an early second quarter fourth and 1 snap, broke loose from would-be Texas tacklers and raced 66 yards into the end zone to announce his presence nationally. Williams wound up the hero that day, finishing with 212 passing yards and a pair of touchdown passes to OU sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims.

Since then, Williams has largely been marvelous for Oklahoma. The Washington, D.C., native threw for 295 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 52-31 Sooners’ victory over TCU. Then, after a slow start, Williams regrouped last week after halftime against Kansas to finish with a pair of touchdown passes.

Williams has recorded touchdown runs of 40-plus yards in each game he’s played in since taking over the Sooners’ starting quarterback duties. It was a fourth and 3 snap versus Kansas that Williams evaded three Jayhawks defenders before breaking free for a 40-yard touchdown scamper to make the score 28-17.

As a result, Williams has been selected as one of 40 quarterbacks that are officially eligible to win the 2021 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The next step in the process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from the 40 quarterbacks. Semifinalists will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 9.

Semifinalists will be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as the first round of the fan vote. Fans can vote for Williams on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. The top five vote getters on each social media platform will receive bonus committee member ballots.

Fellow Big 12 quarterbacks Gerry Bohanon of Baylor, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Texas’ Casey Thompson were also selected. SMU quarterback and former Sooner Tanner Mordecai made the initial cut as well.

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