Lincoln Riley evaluates USC's quarterback room, how he might address depth issues

USC is all set at quarterback thanks to the transfer of former Oklahoma star QB Caleb Williams, who came over almost simultaneously with head coach Lincoln Riley at the beginning of the offseason. But as it stands, Riley would prefer a little more depth in his QB room for next season despite having his starter already set.

“Right now it’s not ideal,” Riley said about his quarterback room. “I certainly wouldn’t take that off the table but we will look at adding somebody but honestly with our roster right now, you can say that about any position that there is. I mean, we’ve got a lot of roster work to do here between now and the first day of camp.”

The Trojans got their spring practice underway last Tuesday, and Riley is already enjoying what he’s seeing out of Williams in the early practice window.

“Caleb’s got a good way about him,” Riley said. “He’s one of those guys that can walk into a room of people he doesn’t know and he’s kind of a chameleon. He can fit in at any place. Now that he’s played some ball, he’s been through it and wanted to come here and establish himself as a leader. We’ve had a number of guys step up as far as who can lead the charge from the players’ side, and he’s one of them.”

Williams finished with 1,912 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions in his lone season at Oklahoma after taking over as the starter midway through the year.

The only other scholarship quarterback on the roster, Miller Moss, a former four-star and top-100 player in the class of 2021 provides USC with one of the best starter-backup dynamics — but that’s where the QB room comes to an end. If Riley gets his way, at least one more QB will join the Trojans by the time the season starts this fall, just to be safe.

“[We still have] a lot of work to do. I like what we have in that room. I like what Miller is doing, I like what Caleb’s doing but obviously you got to have a third guy in there that you have confidence in,” Riley said.

Williams and Moss will get their first opportunity to show off their skills to fans when USC hosts its annual spring game on April 23. After that, he will await the Trojans’ season opener against Rice on Sept. 3.