Caleb Williams details impact of coaches on his development

USC quarterback Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, realizing a lifelong dream that really took hold in childhood.

The Trojans quarterback was quick to thank his high school coaches following his big win. They’re a few of several mentors who provided the structure and gameplan he needed to become a superstar at the college level.

“Yeah, coach (Randy) Trivers and Danny Schaechter,” Williams said. “Those guys, they’ve been astronomical.

“They’ve been a blessing to me. They’ve been, they trusted a ninth-grader in one of the toughest conferences, high school conferences in the nation, to go out and start first game. They text me before every game and they bless me and anything like that. I give thanks to them. They taught me brotherhood, togetherness, trust. Now embracing the moment and then finishing. It’s something that I still go by and they’ve instilled a lot in me.”

Emerging as a five-star high school prospect from Gonzaga in Washington, DC, Williams quickly took the college football world by storm.

He threw for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns after winning the starting job at Oklahoma as a freshman. He also added 442 yards rushing and six touchdowns. From there, Williams opted to transfer to USC, following coach Lincoln Riley out of Oklahoma after the 2021 season.

Caleb Williams’ Heisman Trophy win a credit to his coaches

On Saturday, speaking to reporters before his Heisman Trophy win, Caleb Williams discussed the impact not only his high school coaches had on him, but also college coach Lincoln Riley.

When Williams opted to transfer from Oklahoma to USC, Riley’s track record developing quarterbacks was a significant factor.

“It was a bigger-picture (decision). One, I trust coach Riley and obviously his philosophy and his culture and what he’s brought to me my first year and also my second year,” Williams said. “Yes, he was a part of it.

“And then second part was that there is a bigger picture because you can only be in college probably four to six years now, depending on who or if you leave a college or COVID, whatever, there’s so many different things now that you can do. Before six years was the maximum amount of time that you could stay in college.”

Williams has been frank throughout his entire Heisman Trophy campaign in 2022 that his goal has always been to play football professionally. He wants to do this as a career.

What better way that getting tips from one of college football’s great quarterback developers?

“It was some point I’m going to have to leave and go to another place, hopefully bigger spot, I mean the NFL,” Williams said. “So kind of getting through that process and being with somebody that’s done it, which he’s done a couple times. And also being in a position to go to the NFL and be successful.”

With Caleb Williams’ Heisman Trophy win on Saturday night, he became the eighth different winner from USC. He is the third Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Riley has coached, joining Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018).