Longhorns Country

Star QB Caleb Williams Re-Uniting With Lincoln Riley at USC

The Longhorns Big 12 and future SEC rival has now lost its top player and its former head coach to the USC Trojans

Matt Galatzan

Earlier this month, the Texas Longhorns biggest conference rival, the Oklahoma Sooners, lost their best player to the NCAA transfer portal, in star freshman quarterback Caleb Williams. 

Now, Williams has found his destination of choice, landing with his former head coach, Lincoln Riley, and the USC Trojans.

"I wanted to go somewhere I thought would provide me with the best development both on and off the field," Williams told ESPN's Pete Thamel.  "Getting to know Coach Riley and gaining familiarity with his offense definitely played a part in my selection, as well as already knowing some the guys on the team."

Williams, who made his decision following Riley's exit from Norman, helped the Sooners to a 47-32 Alamo Bowl win over the Oregon Ducks to wrap up last season, completing 21 of 27 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. 

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Williams was also instrumental in the Sooners' victory over Texas at the Red Rivalry Rivalry in October, coming in in relief of former starter Spencer Rattler, and helping the Sooners erase a 28-7 first-quarter deficit, on their way to a 55-48 win in Dallas. 

In that game, Williams 16 of 25 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, while also running four times for 88 yards and another score. 

Williams would be the team's starter for the rest of the season following his take over for Rattler in Dallas, prompting Rattler's eventual decision to transfer to South Carolina in December. 

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The Washington DC native finished the season completing 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 169.6. He also rushed 79 times for 442 yards and six scores. 

"USC obviously has a great football history when it comes to national championships and Heisman winners," Williams told Thamel. "But aside from football, the school itself and the city gives me a chance to really seek out and explore other interests I have off the field." 

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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