USC’s countdown to kickoff has turned to one of the most electric quarterbacks in recent Trojan memory: Caleb Williams.
With the Trojans set to open the 2026 season on August 29 against San Jose State at the Coliseum, the program’s look back at notable players by jersey number lands at 13 days out on the former USC Heisman winner.
Williams played at USC from 2022 to 2023, but his impact arrived fast and loud. After beginning his college career at Oklahoma, he followed head coach Lincoln Riley to Los Angeles after the 2021 season and immediately changed the temperature around the program.
In his first year with the Trojans, Williams put together a staggering line: 4,537 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns and 10 more scores on the ground. He also became USC’s eighth Heisman Trophy winner and helped lift the Trojans to 11 wins after the team had managed just four the year before.
His second season was not quite as explosive statistically, but it still came with big production. USC, though, couldn’t match it on the field in 2023 and finished the regular season 7-5. Williams’s last appearance in Cardinal and Gold was a 38-20 home loss to UCLA, and he chose not to play in USC’s Holiday Bowl win over Louisville.
Williams moved on to the NFL after that, entering the 2024 draft and going first overall to the Chicago Bears. His rookie year had its share of highs and lows, as he threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions while the Bears went 5-12.
In year two, he took a major leap, finishing with 3,942 passing yards and 27 touchdowns as Chicago won its first division title in seven years. Williams now heads into 2026 aiming to keep climbing and establish himself among the league’s top quarterbacks.
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Caleb Williams Just Became College Footballs New USC-Era Villain
Caleb Williams is still finding ways to stay in the conversation long after leaving campus, and the latest comes from ESPNs Ryan McGee, who slotted the former USC quarterback among the top 10 supervillains in college football history. The case is built on the kinds of flashpoints that made Williams such a polarizing figure in Los Angeles and beyond: his transfer from Oklahoma, his record NIL earnings, his Heisman Trophy season in 2022 and a public persona that always seemed to draw strong reactions.
The ranking is the sort of thing that will spark debate in Southern California because it says as much about the sports current era as it does about Williams himself. Some will call it recency bias, especially with so many earlier college football figures who built villain status over much longer stretches, but Williams place on the list shows how quickly one USC star can become a lightning rod in the modern game. [Read more 🡒]
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The branding is set to debut in the 2026 season, and for USC it likely means a change at midfield where the United Airlines Field logo has been in place. It is another sign of how aggressively college football is leaning into commercial inventory, with the Trojans' home setting now part of a broader marketing push that will be hard to miss on fall Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
Boobie Feaster Is Giving USC Fans A Reason To Get Excited
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For a Trojans offense looking for explosive playmakers after key departures at receiver, Feaster offers exactly the kind of upside that can change the feel of a passing game. The challenge now is translating all that promise into early production, but USC has every reason to believe he can be part of the answer sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]