Lincoln Riley previews Cotton Bowl matchup with Tulane, Caleb Williams' health

Prior to the start of the Cotton Bowl, USC head coach Lincoln Riley spoke to the broadcast to preview the game with Tulane and give another update on the health of Caleb Williams.

First, Riley spoke about the step forward this Cotton Bowl appearance is for USC, given they went just 4-8 last season.

“It’s a huge step for our program,” Lincoln Riley said. “It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here. It’s been a great season. To get a chance to come play in the Cotton Bowl, play in this venue, is a great finishing step for us.”

Riley was then asked about what fair expectations for Caleb Williams looked like, given his hamstring injury.

“Well, he’s not 100% but he’s made some nice progress. We were fortunate that we had the amount of time that we had after the previous game for him to recover. Our training staff has done a great job of working with him to try and get him ready,” Riley explained.

“Listen, he’s a competitor. I mean, there was no way that he was not gonna play in this game.”

USC got the ball to start the Cotton Bowl. In the opening possession, his hamstring injury did seem to bother him. However, he also acted as a willing runner and thrower at times.