Caleb Williams addresses last week's media silence following Week 5 victory

On3 imageby:Wade Peery10/02/22

USC star signal-caller Caleb Williams had the worst performance of his college football career last weekend against the Oregon State Beavers and it wasn’t even close. He only completed 16 of 36 passes for 180 passing yards, while tossing in one touchdown and no interceptions in a game the Trojans barely avoided the upset, 17-14. Williams returned to his elite form this week against the Arizona State Sun Devils, completing 27 of 37 passes for 348 passing yards, while tossing in three touchdowns in a 42-25 victory.

After the Oregon State game last weekend, it was decided Williams would not speak with the media. After defeating the Sun Devils on Saturday night, he addressed why he and the team opted to keep him quiet all week.

Williams addressed whether or not the silence was due to his bad performance in Week 4.

“No. I had a few things that came up during the week. And so I had to skip it and so forth. And that was it,” the USC star quarterback said.

Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley also added to it.

“Turns out these guys actually have school, too,” Riley said.

Riley also addressed Williams’ media absence following the Oregon State game.

Williams didn’t take questions after the Trojans’ matchup with the Beavers, nor did he meet with reporters on Wednesday during the scheduled availability. Riley attributed Williams’ post-game absence to “a break” before confirming he’ll be back on schedule going forward.

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“We gave him a break after the game. Brought a couple different people in there,” Riley said during his Thursday Zoom call. “We’ve made him as available as any player in the country probably in our time here. He’s done a lot of different media obligations and I think has went, honestly, above and beyond probably the normal call of a college athlete.

“Yesterday, had a couple things going on, so didn’t do it. But that won’t affect his media availability going forward. He’s had a good week. He’s practiced well. Very engaged with his teammates. Business as usual.”

Caleb Williams has been playing up to expectations this season

It would be surprising to see Caleb Williams miss any media obligations moving forward, but it doesn’t seem like it will be a major issue.

Outside of the Oregon State game, he’s been playing up to the lofty expectations during the 2022 season for USC. The Heisman contender has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,402 passing yards, while tossing in 12 touchdowns and one interception. As a runner, he’s rushed 44 times for 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

USC will face the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally televised on FOX.

On3’s Nick Schultz and Steve Samra also contributed to this article.