The Heisman Trophy is headed to Los Angeles. USC quarterback Caleb Williams lifted college football’s highest individual honor on Saturday night in New York City, beating out a field that included three other signal callers as finalists: Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, TCU’s Max Duggan, and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
It was not viewed as a foregone conclusion for much of the year that Williams would win the award, as things were pretty wide-open for large portions of the season. On. Nov. 19, Williams and the Trojan offense played a high-profile game against UCLA in which he had 503 total yards and three total touchdowns, which led to him getting thrust into the Heisman conversation as one of the favorites.
On the year, Williams completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 4,075 yards with 37 touchdowns and four interceptions. He pitched in another 372 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns on the ground.
Williams becomes the second quarterback in a row to win the award, as Alabama’s Bryce Young earned the honor last season. It marks the sixth time in seven years that a signal caller won the Heisman, and Williams is the third QB coached by Lincoln Riley to win the award — Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray went back-to-back under Riley at Oklahoma in 2017 and 2018, while Jalen Hurts, another Riley protégé, was the runner-up in 2019.
The Trojans will take the field one last time this season, as the team is slated to play Tulane on Jan. 2, 2023 in the Cotton Bowl.