The next step in USC QB Caleb Williams’ development

The transfer from Oklahoma is working on trusting his offensive line more, while critically evaluating when he should leave the pocket

Adam Grosbard (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — Part of the excitement for USC fans when quarterback Caleb Williams chose to be a Trojan was his particular skill set as a dual-threat signal-caller. Sure, USC got a taste of that last season with Jaxson Dart before his meniscus tear, but Trojans quarterbacks have largely been stationary creatures.

So this comment from Williams after Tuesday’s spring practice might have been an eyebrow-raiser for some.

“I’ve actually been practicing to not move around so much.”

Now, this does not mean that Williams is going to abandon his feet after rushing 79 times for 442 yards as a freshman at Oklahoma. Rather, this is part of the next step in Williams’ evolution as a quarterback.

Williams said there were times with the Sooners when he was too quick to scramble instead of allowing plays to develop. Or he tried to run and wound up losing yardage instead of settling for throwing the ball away and taking second-and-10.

This spring, he is working on trusting his offensive line more, while critically evaluating when he does leave the pocket.

“It’s being conscious of it, writing it down every day when you’re watching film and things like that,” he explains. “So that you’re not out there thinking on the field because that’s the worst thing that you can do.”

There’s strategic value to this, too. Williams had the advantage last year of being a blank slate for many opponents to game plan for. Now, there’s a season’s worth of tape for teams to study and prepare.

Which means teams will likely try to take away Williams’ ability to break plays with his feet. As head coach Lincoln Riley explains it, the emphasis isn’t for Williams to run less, but to be able to beat any defense he is faced with.

“Most guys learn more and more when to stay in there and when not to. He’s getting a feel for that, he’s pushing himself on it,” Riley said. “As a quarterback, people are gonna try to play you all kinds of different ways and if you got ways to beat anything they throw at you, you become pretty tough.”

There are many things that Riley looks for a quarterback to improve on as he enters his second year of college such as a better understanding of game situations and getting a better handle on your emotions now that you know what to expect from a collegiate stadium.

But it also comes back to a deeper understanding of the Air Raid and how teams try to defend it. You spend your freshman year learning the basics, then try to expound on those as a sophomore.

Williams is working on this too in spring. He’s spending more time with the playbook, asking Riley and other staffers more questions.

And, as one of two Trojans who have played in Riley’s offense before, he is trying to teach his teammates the scheme as it is installed during camp.

“I’ve actually been trying to progress more in the offense so I can help (teammates) out with checks or if they have a question, I possibly can answer,” Williams said. “So that’s been my big focus this year is making sure that I’m taking the next steps to make sure that we’re in the right spots at the right time to go score or get a first down or convert or anything like that.”

BRIEFLY

Freshman cornerback Domani Jackson was cleared to participate in some drills on Thursday, the first time the former five-star recruit has been able to do so since a knee injury prematurely ended his senior season at Mater Dei.

ocregister.com

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