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USC quarterback Williams wins Heisman Trophy
7:30 PM ET Paolo UggettiESPN Fourteen months earlier, USC quarterback Caleb Williams was a freshman backup at
Oklahoma entering the Red River Rivalry game versus Texas intending to give the Sooners a spark.Now, the 20-year-old is a Heisman Prize winner.On Saturday in New York, Williams– much like he did on the field this year– left no doubt that the Heisman was
his, securing the award provided to the most exceptional player in college football in a decisive triumph. Williams outraced Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, TCU’s Max Duggan and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud for the award.Williams got 544 first-place votes. His 2,031 points quickly beat out Duggan, who chose second. Stroud finished in 3rd location, followed by Bennett.”I may be standing up here today, however y’ all get to go to the College Football Playoff, “Williams said in his approval speech, in saluting the other finalists in front of him
.” Think you can’t win them all.”Over the course of 13 games this season, the previous five-star hire from the Washington D.C. area dazzled with his play, throwing for 4,075 passing lawns and 37 passing touchdowns and rushing for 372 hurrying lawns and 10 rushing goals, in addition to only four interceptions.2 Associated How he did it was through a screen of constant performance and an array of highlight plays that left teammates, coaches and fans alike in awe. His imagination and vision when plays broke down led to almost never ever throwing the ball away, but instead turning scramble plays and prospective sacks into electric runs or incredible passes.Williams’ efficiency surpassed the numbers and highlights too. After head coach Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC last November, Williams followed and ended up being the fulcrum for the Trojans’turn-around from a 4-8 season to an 11-win group.”While this may be an individual award, I definitely understand that absolutely nothing, in this sport or life, is done alone,”Williams said.With Williams under center, USC started 8-0 for the very first time because 2006 and beat both of their competitors– UCLA and Notre Dame– in the same season for the first time given that 2016. Despite his age, Williams
was charged with a vital duty once he signed up with Riley in moving from Norman to Los Angeles via the transfer website. He was among the only players who was intimately knowledgeable about Riley’s style and his offense. At 19, Williams turned into one of the captains of the group and, on offense, a second coach on the field.Though they fell one game except
winning the Pac-12 title and playing in the College Football Playoff, Williams’management during a year of transition for USC assisted the Trojans have among the very best turn-arounds of the sport. Williams and USC are most likely to get in 2024 as both Heisman and title contenders respectively.Williams joins Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as the third quarterback Riley has coached who has actually won the
award.A product of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., Williams is the seventh official USC player to win the award(though Reggie Bush’s 2005 Heisman stays vacated)and the third quarterback from the school. He’s the very first Trojan quarterback to win given that Matt Leinart in 2004.