Caleb Williams Commits to USC!

The USC Trojans have landed arguably the most impactful transfer of this offseason in former No. 1 overall prospect and Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams.

Williams announced the move via ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

USC pulled off one of the game-changing hires of 2021 when Mike Bohn and Brandon Sosna hired Lincoln Riley as head football coach.

As improbable as that development seemed four months ago when Clay Helton was fired, USC’s pursuit went down without a whisper. There was radio silence until the day before the actual announcement. So, the element of surprise was a 10 out of 10 for us.

But the pursuit of Williams was as public as it gets. His pursuit was far from a surprise. In fact, it was expected to happen since we reported the likelihood of Williams hitting the NCAA Transfer Portal back on Dec. 13.

Williams and his father flew to Los Angeles in early January for their USC official visit. Oklahoma WR Transfer Mario Williams was also in L.A. on his official visit that weekend. Both were hosted by class of 2021 stars Ceyair Wright, Jaylin Smith, Korey Foreman and others.

The visitors spent parts of the day and evening taking in sporting events at SoFi Stadium and Crypto.com Arena.

Friday, Jan. 28, marked the final day USC students could add classes for the spring semester. According to Thamel, Williams enrolled late Friday.

Georgia, LSU, UCLA and Wisconsin were discussed as potential landing spots for Williams, but the thought throughout this recruiting process was that an eventual reunion with Riley in Los Angeles was the most likely outcome.

What Caleb Williams means for USC

This commitment is massive and represents potentially the biggest on-field move of this entire offseason, across the country. Williams is seen as a potential Heisman Trophy winner and eventual top pick in the NFL Draft two years from now. The interesting thing is that he will likely be replacing Jaxson Dart, whom the same things could be said about. But the connection between Riley and Williams is noteworthy and should greatly help Riley install his offense at USC.

Williams was the No. 1 overall prospect in the On3 rankings of the 2021 recruiting class. Riley was able to reel him in and the 6-foot-1, 218-pound Williams became a dynamic recruiter for the Sooners, helping build a tremendous offensive class.

Williams took over as the starter for the Sooners during the second half of this past season. He completed 136-of-211 passes for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions as a true freshman in 2021.

He offers a dynamic running presence as well. Williams was Oklahoma’s second-leading rusher this past season, with 442 yards and six touchdowns on 79 attempts. His downfield accuracy is really the only knock on him as a quarterback. According to CFB Film Room, Williams posted a 50.5% completion rate on throws 10 or more yards downfield. That number ranked just seventh among Big 12 quarterbacks in 2021. But Williams was tremendous in the red zone, a spot where USC’s offense struggled to punch in touchdowns last season.

Williams was also a big-play creator last season. While USC finished the 2021 season with just two plays from scrimmage of more than 50 yards, Williams was responsible for 11 such plays, including seven passing and four rushing.

What’s next?

This is a big one as far as the transfer portal goes. Maybe the biggest. Williams is the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal this offseason.

And he is the type of player who can and likely will bring big names with him. Already, USC landed former Oklahoma wide receiver Mario Williams, who undoubtedly knew Caleb Williams would be heading to USC as well.

Williams is now commitment No. 13 out of the transfer portal for USC this offseason. It’s a good group that could remake a large part of the USC offense. It includes three wide receivers, two running backs, an offensive lineman and now the likely starting quarterback for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The Trojans and Riley can now use the momentum created by this commitment to reach out to other offensive players. And continue to generate that momentum on the defensive side of the ball as well. There will likely be a few more additions out of the transfer portal throughout the spring and summer. Last year, USC got commitments from wide receiver Tahj Washington, tight end Malcolm Epps, safety Chris Thompson Jr., running back Darwin Barlow and wide receiver Jake Smith all between March and early July.

With the extended buildup leading to it and the massive implications it brings throughout college football, this commitment from Williams will likely make USC the center of attention throughout the Spring.

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(WeAreSC’s Erik McKinney contributed to this story)