USC football banking on Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley trust factor
Sophomore QB, who followed Riley from Oklahoma, is the skeleton key to unlocking the Trojans’ aspirations this year
He will still approach the sophomore, ready to coach him on the intricacies of the position or give leadership pointers. But he frequently finds that Williams already knows what the coach is going to say.
“He can kinda take the words right from me,” Riley said after practice Thursday.
Williams’ arrival in February was in many ways the skeleton key for Riley’s first season at USC. The head coach hasn’t shied away from championship expectations even in Year 1, but given all the new faces in the locker room and the new systems, it would make more sense for 2022 to be a rebuilding season.
The Trojans’ ace in the hole, though, is Williams, the quarterback who already knows Riley’s offense after spending his freshman season at Oklahoma under Riley before following the head coach west.
Williams’ intricate knowledge of the scheme has earned him the responsibility of teaching his teammates plays and concepts and philosophies in lockstep with Riley.
“I know exactly where everyone has to line up, exactly where they’re going to be on our side. Making sure we get the right runs into certain blitzes or defensive fronts. Making sure we have certain checks,” Williams said Wednesday. “I want to be sort of like Coach Riley Part 2 on the field. He can’t be out here, he has to be behind the white lines. So that’s what I’m reaching for.”
By all accounts, Williams has seized that responsibility. He organized throwing sessions with receivers after summer weightlifting. He made a habit of taking his offensive line out to dinner at places such as Prince Street Pizza and Fixins.
“We’ll probably tell him to take us out a few more times maybe after some games after we win and keep him clean,” Trojans center Brett Neilon said before camp. “But he’s been awesome, he’s treated us well and it’s been fun.”
As important as the chemistry building is for this USC team, Williams’ on-field role will be the most critical. That might not be exactly revolutionary analysis when it comes to a quarterback, but it’s still particularly true in this instance.
Given the collection of new players and coaches in a program that went 4-8 last season and 0-4 following Drake London’s season-ending injury, it would have made sense to put moderate expectations on USC if, like the rest of the roster, the quarterback was learning the ropes as he went.
Instead, Williams is better versed in this Riley version of the Air Raid than many of the assistants. It allows the head coach and play caller to open up the playbook more than with a first-year starter, and to trust what his quarterback sees on the field.
Williams is far from a finished product as a sophomore. He’s worked to improve his footwork this offseason and trust himself more in the pocket instead of scrambling.
But for Riley – who has coached the likes of Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray – he is placing his faith in what Williams can accomplish this year on an individual and team level.
“I trust him going into this second year as much as I have any of the other guys,” Riley said. “There’s just a deeper understanding of what we’re doing, and because of that he’s playing with a lot more confidence.
“The way he walks out on the field, I can almost tell you the kind of day he’s going to have,” Riley said. “I’ve seen now so much, every mannerism and every word. I’ve got to a place where he can tell and I can kinda know what’s in his head even before. And I think he, in a lot of ways, [feels] the same thing with me. I think a lot of times I’m getting ready to make a point to him, whether it’s about playing the position or leading or anything and he can kinda take the words right from me. We’re in lockstep.”
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