Lincoln Riley on Caleb Williams translating to NFL: 'He'll have to adapt'

USC quarterback Caleb Williams is currently projected as the consensus No. 1 overall pick ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, regarded by many as a generational talent that’s drawn comparisons to Patrick Mahomes throughout his college career.

But there’s no such thing as a perfect prospect, with many worrying about how Williams’ off-schedule play style will translate to the NFL level.

Williams represents the third quarterback that Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley has coached who’s taken home the Heisman Trophy and is expected to be the top selection in the NFL Draft. And during a Monday appearance on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’, Riley was asked if he believes Williams will be able to continue playing the way he has been in college at the NFL level.

“I think his game will have to adapt because people, and we even saw even this year, people are going to try to defend him differently,” Riley explained. “And you guys know, everybody’s gonna try to get the book on what works against you and they’re gonna continue to try different things and so as a quarterback you’ve got to learn to find different ways to win, different ways to move the football and be productive.”

In college Williams was known for his elite scrambling ability, generating big plays by manipulating and escaping the pocket to find wide receivers down the field or make some magic happen with his legs. His play style generated 8,688 total yards of offense and 93 total touchdowns in his two years as USC’s starter, but Riley believes that Williams will have to alter his Saturday habits when he takes the field on Sundays.

“And so he’ll have to adapt because there’ll be some people that’ll want to keep him in the pocket, that’ll want to make him win the game from that perspective. He physically certainly can do it and that’ll just be part of his climb and again, that’s why I think it’s so important a guy like this has to get in the right situation where he’s developed, he’s got the right people around him so that he can continue to climb as a player,” Riley said.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Williams balances playing within the scheme of an offense versus free-lancing and creating his own plays at the next level.

But when it comes to the physical tools alone, there’s no denying what Caleb Williams is capable of. Seemingly making a handful of plays in each of his college games that drop jaws and make him appear like the ideal quarterback for the modern iteration of football.

“I think it translates well because he is,” Riley said. “He’s athletically typically one of the best athletes on the field, but then his ability to create, his ability to throw from all different angles, all different platforms, is really really special. He’s continuing to become a better situational quarterback and the more reps he gets the better he’s gonna be. But he’s gonna have some advantages physically when he steps on the field with anyone and that’s a great start and then it’ll just be a climb from there.”

The discourse surrounding Caleb Williams will only increase as the upcoming NFL Draft and 2024 NFL season get closer and closer, with all eyes on the generational talent to see if he can live up to the massive hype and expectations surrounding him.