USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley Dishes On Landing Caleb Williams

Riley: 'Caleb and his family made the decision to jump into the transfer portal, and we had a conversation shortly after that.'

USC football announced the signing of fourteen new faces on Feb. 2, which includes 13 transfers and one high school player. 

The names include, DL Earl Barquet , CB Mekhi Blackmon, WR Terrell Bynum, RB Travis Dye, OT Bobby Haskins, OLB Romello Height, RB Austin Jones, ILB Shane Lee, CB Latrell McCutchin, WR Brenden Rice, DL Tyrone Taleni, QB Caleb Williams, WR CJ Williams and WR Mario Williams.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley held a press conference on National Signing Day and discussed the Trojans' 2022 recruiting class.

USA TODAY 

Riley on his staff's recruiting efforts:

"Our staff has done a tremendous job. You talk about coming in, at the end of November, when your main signing day is just a few weeks away, [and] really assembling a class that took all of our talents and skill. The staff did a phenomenal job."

Riley on USC's current football team:

"The team is doing very well. It's been great here the last few days," Riley said.

"To be back in house, daily with our guys, to see them train. To be able to spend some of the limited time, [and] start installing offensive and defensive systems, you see leaders start to emerge."

Riley on recruiting Caleb Williams to USC:

"Caleb and his family made the decision to jump into the transfer portal, and we had a conversation shortly after that. I don't think we even talked one bit of football, it was just kinda like a long lost friend. It was kinda good just to be able to re-connect."

Riley on Caleb Williams choosing USC:

"There were a lot of things that he knew about myself and our staff that he had a positive experience with. Then obviously there were a lot of [new things], with a new program, new city and new university. I think the biggest thing was making sure that this was going to be a good fit for us as a program, and a right fit for him as far as his development as a player and student."

Riley on bringing in more talent before next season:

"We still have a unique amount of flexibility in terms of being able to still evaluate our roster and make adjustments as needed. Spring ball will be helpful, we will be able to evaluate and really get on the field."

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