Lincoln Riley believes Caleb Williams has plenty room for growth

Despite a Heisman Trophy on his shelf, Lincoln Riley believes USC quarterback Caleb Williams has plenty of room for growth in 2023.

Many believe Williams is far and away the best quarterback in college football, and you can already pencil him in as the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Heck, if he was eligible for the previous two NFL Drafts, he probably could’ve gone first overall then too. But it’s not that simple for his head coach.

Riley believes Williams can be one of the legends, and he has his entire career ahead of him. That’s causing him to push the reigning Heisman winner as far as he can go, and Williams is responding to it and then some.

“He’s played a year and a half of college football. There’s fifteen more levels he could get at,” Riley responded, regarding his quarterback’s room for growth. “I mean, he’s going to continue to get better throughout his career. He’s still got the bulk of his career in front of him. So yeah, we’re going to try and take a great step throughout this season. Needs to get better at a little bit of everything. I don’t know if you guys believe me when I say that, but it actually is the truth. He’s tremendous, (but) he doesn’t walk on water yet.

“He’s got a lot of work to do, and he’s the first one to admit that, and to see that. He’s a tremendous player, but there’s not any part of his game where you’re like, that is elite. It can’t get any better. So we’re pushing it on all facets. We’re coaching him hard, and he’s been very responsive, and I do think he’s a better player right now than he was. I do think he’s got a different skillset, and a whole new set of challenges coming up, that he’s going to have to be ready to deal with and respond to.”

Alas, USC has big time goals in 2023, which is also slated to be their final season in the PAC-12. They’ll have a good shot to reach them if Williams play up to his potential, and Riley is trying to ensure that happens.

Regardless, Caleb Williams is arguably the most talented player in all of college football, and a bright NFL future awaits. But the College Football Playoff is beckoning to him at the moment, and it remains to be seen if he can answer the call.