Caleb Williams, Southern California Football News: Draft Scout Player News

04/27/22 - QB Caleb Williams, Jr/2024, Southern California

A sophomore transfer who followed coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, Williams is the player who most symbolizes this new era of USC football. Which, by extension, could make him Los Angeles' next superstar athlete. USC coach Lincoln Riley was encouraged by the energy during the Trojans' spring game, which featured big plays from Caleb Williams and some surprises. The glorified scrimmage on Saturday amounted to a public unveiling, but Williams treated it like, well, a glorified scrimmage. "I don't really get nervous," he said with a nonchalant delivery that emphasized his point. USC claimed the announced crowd of 33,427 was the largest to watch a spring game since attendance records were first kept in the late 1990s, but Williams was unfazed. He completed his first nine passes. He finished his first two drives with touchdown passes to Mario Williams, another sophomore transfer from Oklahoma.

Alternating drives with backup quarterback Miller Moss over two 15-minute halves, Williams was 10 for 12 passing for 98 yards. "He's getting more comfortable," Riley said. "He's becoming a more seasoned, experienced quarterback." He's already electric. Williams can run, as he showed on the first play of his second drive when he pump-faked and bolted down the right sideline for an eight-yard gain. He can throw, as he demonstrated on the next play when he lofted a perfectly weighted pass that traveled nearly 30 yards in the air as defensive lineman Tyrone Taleni was closing in on him. Receiver Terrell Bynum was on the other end of the 29-yard completion. "The quarterback position, to win championships, you need that position to play well," Riley said. - Los Angeles Times

Jr/2024