USC QB Caleb Williams’ feet are proving as valuable as his arm

Even if it’s become routine, the way Williams has been able to extend plays to keep the USC offense moving should not be taken for granted

Adam Grosbard (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — The image has occurred so many times throughout No. 6 USC’s 5-0 start to the season, you might have become used to it.

Or, at least Caleb Williams’ teammates have.

The quarterback drops back and soon finds himself under pressure. It looks like a sure sack with the defensive player having broken a block. But then Williams ducks down and sheds the tackle. Or he spins out of the clutches to continue skipping down the field.

“You’re kind of desensitized to some of the special stuff he does,” left guard Andrew Vorhees said.

But even if it’s become routine, the way Williams has been able to extend plays to keep the USC offense moving should not be taken for granted.

This season, Williams has been pressured on 66 of 188 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He has only allowed himself to be sacked 11 times. Seventeen times he has scrambled on an improvised run.

On the remaining 38 pressures, he has found a way to extend the play and make an attempt at a receiver, or throw the ball away and avoid losing yards.

“I feel like it’s just his will to make the play,” receiver Jordan Addison said. “He wants to do anything he can to get the first down or score a touchdown.”

Williams said the origins date back to his childhood, when he was frequently one of the shorter kids playing games. So he had to use his speed and creativity to elude his classmates.

“That was always kind of one of my things, once I got it, I’d just kind of duck under, duck under the legs or anything like that,” Williams said. “I’d say I’d take a little pride in it when I was younger. But now, just trying to go out there and win the game and play to the best of my availability.”

Williams said there are no specific drills he does at practice to help with this skill. Instead, it’s honed at practice, where he dodges USC’s array of pass rushers even in his yellow non-contact jersey.

But tight end Malcolm Epps believes Williams’ rush-dodging ability is a testament to the work the sophomore quarterback does taking care of his body.

“What y’all don’t see is in the weight room. He lifts. He lifts lifts,” Epps said. “He’s not like one of those quarterbacks that don’t lift like everybody.”

For Epps and the rest of the USC receivers, they’ve learned not to give up on passing plays even when all appears lost.

“We scrimmage it all the time because with him, he can escape anything,” Epps said. “There were a couple plays I was like, ‘Damn, he got sacked. Oh, we’re still running.’ It was one of those. So with him you gotta keep going or you might miss a play.”

This skill will be particularly useful to Williams on Saturday when USC (5-0 overall, 3-0 Pac-12) takes on a Washington State team that is seventh nationally with 3.6 sacks per game. The Cougars (4-1, 1-1) are an aggressive bunch out front that are creative with their blitz packages.

But Williams says that won’t speed up his mental clock as he goes through progressions at the Coliseum.

“That’s one thing you don’t want to do as a QB. You don’t want to feel rushed, you don’t want somebody to make you feel rushed,” Williams said. “If you feel something, you get up in the pocket, you get out. I’m not going to let anyone speed up my progressions and my receivers or anything like that.”

Caleb Williams eludes ASU DB Jordan Clark as he jets by during the first half on Saturday night at the Coliseum. Williams has routinely been able to extend plays to keep the USC offense moving. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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