‘Magical’ Play Calls Convinced Caleb Williams To Join USC

Decades after Showtime, Riley is bringing the magic back to LA. Lincoln Riley, that is.

Southern California’s first-year head coach has wasted little time turning the Trojans from has beens to Hollywood superstars, beginning with starting QB Caleb Williams, who followed Riley from Oklahoma to USC this winter.

“Obviously, we know his plays are — I mean, his plays are insane,” Williams told Trojans Live.

Those play calls and the preexisting chemistry between coach and player are the reason that Williams chose USC over the other powerhouses who sought Williams in the portal.

"Obviously, Coach Riley, we have a good connection," Williams added, per Trojans Live. "I mean, we talk all the time. Just about anything. We call each other at random times. And he always picks up — and, obviously, I always have to pick up.”












Relationship aside, it seems as though Riley's whiteboard prowess really is what sold Williams on the Trojans.

“He draws it up, you go in game day and it’s like, ‘They work.’ You’ll look at ’em on the white board or on the screen and you’ll be like, ‘What is this?’ And then you go out, you practice it, you rep it, you rep it, you rep it, you rep it. And you go out there on game day and you drop back and it’s everything he" promised it'd be, said Williams.

Though he has worked with Riley for close to two years now, Williams is still astonished by how often Riley tosses out creative concepts. Williams told Trojans Live, "I don’t know how he does it, but it’s pretty magical.”

Williams is saying all the right things. But we'll have to wait until fall to see whether USC's magic is the real deal or just a bunch of smoke and mirrors.








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Anthony is a former high school basketball intramural champion who played a leading role in creating two offspring. He spends his weekends hoping for an MTV Rock N' Jock revival. Follow him on X (@OhioAF).