Lincoln Riley: 'Chicago fans are going to love watching' Caleb Williams at QB

Lincoln Riley knows firsthand how great Caleb Williams is to watch and Chicago Bears fans can finally experience the ride.

Williams played three seasons under Riley, following him to USC after his freshman year at Oklahoma. A Heisman Trophy and dazzling plays later, Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Riley probably wishes he had Williams for another season, but USC will transition, likely, to Miller Moss following his Holiday Bowl performance.

“Chicago fans are gonna obviously love watching Caleb,” Riley said on Sirius XM during Big Ten Media Days. “He’s a phenomenal talent and we had a great run together.”

Over the course of three seasons, Williams threw for 10,082 yards, 93 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 66.9% completion percentage. Replacing Williams won’t be easy.

“We had a little bit of a test drive in the Holiday Bowl and obviously not just Miller, but really a lot of the young players at all positions you know, we really featured in that game and the guys handled it obviously really well in the win over Louisville,” Riley said. 

“It was honestly an advantage to be able to have that opportunity kind of the way that it played out. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it  before. We have the high profile player that leaves and goes into the whatever pick in the draft and then everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, what are you gonna do now?’” 

Williams won’t play in the Hall of Fame Game, which opens the NFL preseason. The Bears take on the Houston Texans but fans will have to wait for the pro debut of Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

As far as Riley is concerned, he can’t wait to watch, but has to focus on what he has at USC for the 2024 campaign.

“I’m excited about it, we’ll be different,” Riley said. “I mean, we were different in that game, we’ll be certainly more different with whoever ends up being the guy whether it’s Miller or (Jayden Maiava) or whoever it is, we’ll be different because of the skill sets that we’re going to have. 

“The fun to me is adapting to what you have, what can your advantages be? And how can you put a product on the field no matter what your skill sets are, they can go out and play at a high level? And so that’s been our mindset.”