USC Football Waits For Caleb Williams
While USC has added key transfers, the biggest transfer would be Oklahoma’s QB and the wait for a decision continues…
Only not that transfer. A talented or promising player at a position of need for USC, but not Oklahoma quarterback transfer Caleb Williams.
That’s been the cycle for the last two weeks as USC waits to see if new head coach Lincoln Riley indeed does bring his former signal-caller with him to Los Angeles. And the tantalizing prospect of Williams as a Trojan is a legitimate one for USC fans to get caught up in.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, Williams opened 2022 Heisman Trophy betting season with the fourth-best odds (12/1) to win the prestigious award. His first game as a true freshman was to enter the Red River Rivalry late in the second quarter and lead the Sooners to a three-touchdown comeback against their arch-rival, Texas. He took over as the Oklahoma starter from there, completing 64.5% of his passes for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions, while adding 79 rushing attempts for 442 yards and six touchdowns.
So, yes, there’s a reason for the hype, and anticipation, and consternation as the decision drags out. Especially when USC’s last “quarterback of the future”, Jaxson Dart, is living it up in the transfer portal with visits to Oklahoma and Ole Miss, posing for pictures with former USC head coach Lane Kiffin.
All of this is to say, though, that the waiting game has had its benefits, and the wait might soon come to an end.
On the latter point first: USC rules dictate that a student-athlete must be enrolled in classes by Jan. 28 to participate in spring football. So if Williams wants to come to USC and wants to get a full spring to work with his new teammates, he has to make his decision and announcement by Friday.
But in the interim, Riley has done nothing but make USC more attractive to Williams.
In his lone public comments since his son entered the transfer portal three weeks ago, Carl Williams told Yahoo! Sports that preparation for the NFL would be the most important factor in Caleb Williams’ decision. Part of that comes down to coaching staff, which was a large reason Williams chose to play for Riley at Oklahoma a year ago. Something about a resume that included Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts.
But you also need the right personnel to be successful in college to get the right preparation for the pros. And USC has spent the past several weeks building up the roster infrastructure to put Williams in the best position for success.
Riley has added four transfers at the skill positions in the past two weeks. The first was a familiar face for both himself and Williams in former OU receiver Mario Williams (no relation). Mario Williams is the type of elusive receiver you need, someone who can get open on a short route and then turn it into a 10-15-yard pickup, and just enough athleticism to go up and get a jump ball. He was a member of Caleb Williams’ signing class at OU and they connected frequently last year.
USC followed that up with adding Colorado WR transfer Brenden Rice, at 6-foot-3 a more physically-imposing and athletic target who showed promise as a sophomore with 21 catches for 299 yards.
Riley then bolstered the running attack with two more Pac-12 transfers: First, Austin Jones from Stanford, and then, most importantly, Oregon’s Travis Dye, who led the Pac-12 in total yards in 2021.
Dye is the type of workhorse back that any successful offense needs. His 211 carries and 1,271 ground yards last season would have been the best for any ‘SC back since Ronald Jones II in 2017. And both Dye and Austin Jones are capable pass catchers who will enhance the next USC quarterback’s options for checkdowns.
Whether that’s going to be Williams remains to be seen. In addition to USC, he has reportedly visited UCLA, per ESPN. There’s another report from On3 that LSU is a finalist for his services along with USC, though given how quietly Williams and his family have moved through this process, you can’t take that as gospel.
But in the interim, as USC has waited to see if it will indeed land Riley’s preferred quarterback, the new coaching staff has done what it can to build up the infrastructure so that next year’s quarterback — whether it be Williams, Miller Moss or someone else — has the tools to be successful.
And who knows. Maybe the next emoji from the USC Twitter account will indeed herald Williams’ commitment.
ocregister.com
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