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Caleb Williams recalls why he followed Lincoln Riley to USC

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•07/22/23
USC QB Caleb Williams
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Though the transfer portal has made moving from school to school easier than ever, it’s still not that common to see a player follow a coach directly from one school to another. But Caleb Williams did just that and explained why he followed Lincoln Riley to USC prior to the 2022 campaign.

In short, Williams wanted continuity with his college career.

“I think the biggest reason is for me in that moment was, I didn’t want to be a freshman again,” Williams said at Pac-12 Media Days. “Going to a new school and having to learn the playbook over and things like that, or a new playbook, so that was part of it.”

That Williams followed Lincoln Riley to USC allowed him to remain in the same playbook, learning the same concepts and schemes.

Sure, he still had to get used to being in a new physical location. But Williams was able to adjust quickly enough to win the Heisman Trophy in 2022 after an absurdly good season.

His trust level with Riley was another reason he picked the Trojans.

“Then the next part of it was our relationship that me and Linc built, our relationship is cool,” Williams said. “We’ve been through some stuff. A guy that was in front of me and then trusted me enough to bring me in for one of the biggest games in Oklahoma‘s history and then in college history.”

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Riley did play Williams as a freshman at Oklahoma, inserting him in a key Red River Rivalry showdown against Texas for his first major action. Williams was up to the task, helping Oklahoma win 55-48.

Williams would continue to get more and more playing time from there. By the time his freshman season had ended, Williams had a pretty good idea where things could be headed if he followed Lincoln Riley.

So he did.

“And then, you know, follow him to USC, him leaving and believing and trusting in him,” Williams said. “You know, that was one and then the next part of that was believing and trusting that he can get me to the next level. And I say that because I can only be at college for a certain amount of years. So that was just a belief and trust in him.”

Williams will open the 2023 season as one of the betting favorites to repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner.