Trent Dilfer uses car analogy to describe USC QB Caleb Williams' rare talent

Before Trent Dilfer was named the head football coach at UAB last fall, he was one of the top evaluators of the quarterback position in the country. Dilfer not only played the position at the NFL level for over a decade, but also served as an analyst for ESPN and was heavily involved in the Elite 11 quarterback camps.

He’s witnessed many current NFL star quarterbacks before they were stars, and the next in line seems to be USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who most regard as the guaranteed No. 1 overall pick for the 2024 NFL Draft. There’s no doubt that Williams is special, but Dilfer broke down to Sports Illustrated what separates him from the rest ahead of the 2023 season.

“He’s rare,” Dilfer said. “I always go to these car analogies because they resonate with people the most, but he’s got muscle car horsepower, he’s got sports car twitch, he’s got SUV joint structure, he’s got Tesla brains. And he’s got Formula 1 intuitive qualities. He’s just everything you’re looking for.”

Williams’ make and model may be rare, but according to Dilfer, what also makes him even more special is his intangibles off the field.

“We had him that COVID year at Elite 11 and I was just like, ‘Guys, am I crazy or is this maybe the best kid we’ve ever had?’ He’s unbelievable. He’s got this magnetic personality. People are drawn to him. He’s got humility. He just checks every box. And then he plays the position at a high level in one of the better structured offenses in college football,” Dilfer said.

Williams took home the Heisman Trophy last season after leading the nation with 42 touchdown passes, also throwing for 4,537 yards (third in the nation) and just five interceptions. He seemingly has all of the tools you’d want for a franchise quarterback at the next level, making him nearly a perfect prospect in the eyes of Dilfer.

“There’s just nothing that you don’t have in him,” Dilfer said. “I can’t wait for the one scout that tries to tear him apart, like they did with Andrew Luck. Maybe—maybe—that Williams has a different type of personality is what gets picked at by NFL types. But that’s really just it. You have to reach to criticize a guy who became Lincoln Riley’s first true-freshman starting quarterback at Oklahoma, then transferred and became USC’s pied piper in winning the Heisman as a sophomore.”

Williams burst onto the college football scene after leading Oklahoma to a comeback victory off of the bench versus Texas in 2021. Then he doubled, and maybe even tripled, down on that with his breakout year last season in Los Angeles for the Trojans.

He’s already regarded as a generational talent with one more college football season ahead of him, and only time will tell if he can live up to the lofty expectations and comparisons that have a placed upon him already.

“You have guys that have unique twitch but they lack horsepower, you have guys that have unique horsepower but they lack twitch,” Dilfer said. “What you’re really looking for is this twitch/horsepower combination. There’s no way of quantifying it, except with your eye. Caleb has that. He can play the game like a twitchy little 5’11” kid that’s lightning in a bottle, and he can play the power game like the most powerful guy in the NFL. It’s Aaron Rodgers.”