Lincoln Riley addresses rumors regarding Caleb Williams' approach to last year's bowl game

USC quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to be the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. So, it wasn’t surprising when he sat out the Holiday Bowl to end the 2023 season. However, it has recently been rumored that Williams was ready to play but sat out to give Miller Moss a chance to show what he was capable of before transferring.

Head coach Lincoln Riley was asked about that rumor. However, he said he wouldn’t get into any specifics while downplaying how much that thought process came into play for Williams.

“I don’t think I would delve into the specifics of it,” Lincoln Riley said. “I think, Caleb made a decision based on his professional career, which I certainly get.”

Caleb Williams followed Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC, winning the Heisman Trophy for the 2022 season. During his time in college, he completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 10,082 yards and 93 touchdowns. He’s widely expected to become the Chicago Bears’ first overall pick in this Spring’s draft.

“Is he the type of teammate that would look at it and see that, on top of that, it could help another guy? Yes. But I don’t know if it’s accurate that somebody just simply wouldn’t play just because of that,” Riley said. “So, I know he, just as much as anybody, was obviously very excited for the way that Miller played.”

Miller Moss ended up having a massive Holiday Bowl, throwing for 372 yards and six touchdowns in the winner over Louisville. He stuck with the USC program, not entering the Transfer Portal, despite the rumored reason why Caleb Williams didn’t play being to give Moss a chance to showcase himself.

For his part, Caleb Williams did attend the Holiday Bowl in street clothes to support his teammates.

Lincoln Riley opens up on where USC’s quarterback battle stands

With spring practice underway at USC, Lincoln Riley shared where the USC quarterback battled stands as he tries to find a full-time replacement for Caleb Williams.

“Miller was fantastic not just in the game but really the entire six-week lead-up to that bowl game. Not just quarterback play but from a leadership perspective, I thought he did an outstanding job. So, excited about his momentum and progress coming off of that,” Riley said.

“Jake Jensen did great in the bowl game and came in on that fourth down play. That was a monster play in that game.”