How USC QB Caleb Williams has lived up to his No. 1 high school recruiting ranking
Caleb Williams is the talk of college football. The sophomore quarterback has led USC to the cusp of the College Football Playoff and enters this week’s Pac-12 Championship game as the big favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
The former Oklahoma signal caller has transformed the Trojan offense in Lincoln Riley’s first season in Los Angeles. Williams has completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,712 yards and 34 touchdowns against three interceptions. He has the sixth-best passer efficiency rating in college football. Williams has also rushed for 351 yards and 10 more touchdowns.
The stats are great, but the eye test is even more impressive. Williams’ playmaking ability in Lincoln Riley’s scheme has lifted a re-worked USC offense to a top five unit nationally. The Washington D.C. native makes incredible individual plays on a weekly basis. No other player in college football has a highlight reel like Williams. Those plays are needed, too. USC doesn’t come close to their 11-1 record with most other quarterbacks behind center.
We’re already seeing Williams generate NFL Draft buzz, despite being a true sophomore. Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton recently recently called him a “generational player” and one NFL teams will tank to pick No. 1 overall.
As a recruit, Williams was On3’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2021 On300. While he finished as a top ten prospect in the On3 Consensus, On3’s ranking of Williams differed a bit from others in the industry, as no other outlet had him as a top five prospect. Even without the benefit of a senior season (canceled by COVID-19), we saw Williams as the most talented quarterback in the cycle and a relatively easy choice for No. 1 overall.
Caleb Williams has made good on that lofty ranking to this point. He looked like one of the better true freshman quarterbacks in recent memory last season at Oklahoma. That’s before taking his game to another level as a sophomore at USC.
Let’s dive a little deeper into Williams’ special talent by taking a look back at his high school career.
Caleb Williams has unique arm talent
It may seem like hyperbole, but Caleb Williams has regularly drawn comparisons to Patrick Mahomes over the course of the season due to the physical talent and play style. Williams has flashed eye-popping velocity and unique arm talent as a sophomore at USC. We saw some early signs of this dating back to Williams’ first varsity season as a 10th grade at Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C.
Willams has a quick, easy arm. He has relaxed, natural mechanics and a clean throwing motion. As early as his 10th grade season, he showed the ability to flick the ball out to the boundary from the far hash without strain.
The arm strength allows Williams to touch the entire field, keeping defenses honest. Williams has unique arm dexterity, with the capability of delivering throws from varying arm slots and platforms. He’s able to create torque through his core to generate force on the ball despite his feet not being set. The ability to throw off-platform was as good as I’ve seen from a high school quarterback, especially as an underclassman.
It’s not every day you see a 10th grade quarterback make cross-body throws while sprinting to his left.
We also saw Williams show confidence in his arm strength and accuracy in sticking the ball on covered receivers. He excelled on back shoulder throws.
A glance at Williams’ high school stats would lead one to think accuracy was a weakness. He never completed more than 60 percent of his passes in a season at Gonzaga. But in watching many of his games, I never found accuracy to be an issue. The offense did not have many quick, easy throws that would pad a completion percentage. Williams was throwing the ball downfield, often in high-difficulty situations. Seeing Williams in neutral camp and 7-on-7 settings also gave us confidence that he is an accurate passer. It was a scenario where you needed to scout the traits and the player, not the high school offense.
Athleticism and rushing ability
Williams combines his considerable arm talent with high-end athleticism and rushing ability.
In the spring before his junior season at Gonzaga, Williams posted a 4.57 time in the 40-yard dash, a 4.12-second shuttle and a 36.3-inch vertical at The Opening regional camp. He certainly was among the more athletic quarterbacks in the 2021 cycle in a combine setting.
That athleticism transfers to the field, where Williams is a considerable run threat. He ran for 838 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games as a junior at Gonzaga, both on designed concepts and scrambles.
While the speed and quickness are there, the nuance as a runner is what sets him apart. Williams runs with outstanding body lean. He’s tough for defenders to read, and has a nasty dead-leg move along with the ability to cut back.
The slippery running style also prevents too many direct shots. We tallied 27 forced missed tackles in a three-minute long highlight video from Williams’ junior season of high school – an absurd number. It’s been a while since I’ve seen another top quarterback prospect force so many missed tackles.
Caleb Williams’ off-schedule playmaking is next level
The arm and athleticism pair with Williams’ off-script creativity to manifest in a special talent. Similar to what he’s shown in college, there was a ton of high-level backyard style playmaking to his game as a high school player. Williams certainly experimented and was able to explore the limits of his abilities.
Playing quarterback is a performance craft. Williams’ physical skill set and aggressive mentality allowed him to create some considerable playmaking pathways within his individual style.
While it might’ve seemed as if Williams was improvising frequently, he also showed considerable polish as an in-structure quarterback. Unlike many other top high school prospects, we saw him take some snaps under center. We also were able to see him play in and navigate within a pocket.
You don’t have to squint to see how Williams would fit into most schemes, college or the NFL. The ability to make plays both within and out of structure result in a quarterback with a highly translatable skill set.
Shining in big moments
Williams played some of the nation’s better competition in high school as Gonzaga is in the competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. He led Gonzaga to a WCAC title as a sophomore in 2019, taking down a nationally ranked DeMatha team with a “Hail Mary” in one of the craziest games you’ll ever see. The composure in that huge spot as a 10th-grader was well beyond his years.
That ability to perform in high pressure situations has transferred over to the college level. Williams’ first big moment as a college player came when leading Oklahoma to a historic comeback win over Texas as a true freshman. He’s answered the bell in a number of games as a sophomore as well, playing at his best in the biggest moments.
Looking ahead
While Caleb Williams‘ season has been incredible to this point, there’s still football left to play. The nation will be watching as Williams and the Trojans look to cinch a spot in the College Football playoff with a win over Utah on Friday night.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder also has another year at USC – one that is sure to come with considerable anticipation and NFL Draft hype. The 2021 quarterback cycle looks fairly strong at the top at this stage with North Carolina’s Drake Maye also garnering significant buzz following a stellar first season as a starter. Still, Williams’ pure horsepower both as a passer and playmaker makes him the early odds-on favorite to come off the board first.
Williams could join Trevor Lawrence and perhaps Alabama’s Bryce Young as modern quarterback prospects to be ranked No. 1 overall in high school to be drafted with the first pick.
If his two seasons in college football are any indication, it should be fun to watch.