Coming out of high school, Caleb Williams, a quarterback from Washington D.C., was ranked second in the nation in his recruiting class. Before his senior season, he announced his commitment to football powerhouse Oklahoma Williams also boasted offers from schools such as LSU, Alabama and Clemson, but decided on OU thanks to its reputation for training top-notch quarterbacks like Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Baker Mayfield.

A Great Start

The five-star high school quarterback joined a highly talented team and became the backup quarterback for Spencer Rattler before taking over midway through the 2021 season. Per CBS Sports, in his seven starts, he went 5-2, with 1,912 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

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It seemed as if Oklahoma found their true quarterback for the next few years. However, when the season concluded, 4-year coach Lincoln Riley suddenly left Oklahoma to pursue what he thought was a better opportunity at USC for him and his family. That's when all the pieces began to fall out of place for Caleb Williams. 

Time to Transfer? 

According to Sports Illustrated, a month after Riley left for USC, Williams hit the transfer portal. A few weeks later, he announced his commitment to USC, citing familiarity with the team roster, on and off-field development, and former coach Riley as a few main reasons.

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It's safe to say that Williams' transfer journey was a success–in his first year with the Trojans, Williams has been nothing short of lights out. He's led the team to a 7-1 record thus far, while solidifying himself as a standout Heisman candidate. In 8 games thus far, he's thrown for 2,382 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and just 1 interception. His first loss came during Week 7 in a high-scoring duel against number 20 ranked Utah where they fell by a score of 43-42.

Even so, with a 7-1 record, Williams & Co. sit firmly at 10th in the latest AP Top 25 Rankings. If we see anything like the first half of his season, Williams will definitely be among the Heisman favorites. The second-year college quarterback has been making the most of his opportunity at USC and truly sticks out as a transfer success story.

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* Originally published on November 3, 2022, by Nicholas Nathanson