Caleb Williams downplays perceived competition with Shedeur Sanders on Saturday

Last season, USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy and now he’s one of the front-runners to take home the award again in 2023.

On Saturday, Williams and USC will travel to Colorado. There, he’ll go head to head with Shedeur Sanders, the Buffaloes quarterback who is getting some early season Heisman hype. Despite that, Williams downplayed the perceived competition, pointing out he’s technically competing with Colorado’s defense.

“I’m excited to go compete against [Colorado],” Caleb Williams said. “I mean, I won’t be competing against Shedeur, but excited to go compete against the defense. They’ve got a great defense. Got a bunch of good, explosive players. Like I said, really excited.”

Williams was then asked if he knew Sanders at all or if their paths had crossed. As it turns out, their paths have crossed before, going back to eighth grade.

“All-American game,” Caleb Williams said. “Played in the All-American game and then went to high school.”

Through four games this season, Williams has thrown for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s also run for an additional three scores. There is a real chance he will become the first player to win the Heisman Trophy two seasons in a row since Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975.

Despite that, there has still been a ton of hype on Colorado that normally would go to a school like USC. That’s attention that Williams feels is good for Colorado.

“It’s been good for them. Something that Colorado’s needed and haven’t had in a while. Deion and his son, Travis and all those other players have done a good job making that side of the world and that stadium and all of that very exciting,” Caleb Williams said.

“It’ll be a good game, and really excited to get out there and go vs. the defense, our defense go vs. their offense and to have the crowd roaring at us.”

Caleb Williams praised the job Deion Sanders is doing

When Deion Sanders got to Colorado, he made the decision to flush the roster through the transfer portal. That move has, seemingly, worked well and Caleb Williams praised the job he’s done to this point.

“They’ve done a good job to say the least. They have like 60 or 70 new players, kind of like we did last year,” Williams said.

“They’ve done a great job going 3-0. It’s not the same team that we played last year. Obviously, not the same coaching staff and players, and we have to understand. It’s going to be a good game and I’m excited to play them.”