CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Devon Williams has had to show patience while waiting for his opportunity this fall, but the freshman wide receiver showed himself Saturday night to be both a speedy playmaker and a quick learner.
Continuing USC's brutal injury bad luck this fall, star wideout Michael Pittman was forced out of the game at the end of the first quarter at Oregon State with a shoulder injury of unspecified severity.
The Trojans remained committed to their aggressive downfield passing attack, though, as Williams took Pittman's spot.
Never mind that the rookie had yet to make a catch all season, on the fourth play of the next series, quarterback JT Daniels chucked it down the left sideline toward Williams, who wasn't able to get to the spot in time to make a play. He'd take a lesson from that moment, though.
Two plays later Williams reeled in a 7-yard catch for a third-down conversion and five plays after that in that same series Daniels went deep to him again. This time, it was a 41-yard touchdown connection.
"I told him, 'If anybody presses you, no one can run with you,'" Daniels would share later. "I told him if it's press again, I'll do a quick play fake and get it out and down quicker than I did before. And we did a quick play fake, threw it up and he made the play."
Williams said the first missed connection was his fault because he let the defensive back pull at him and slow him up. The second time he never gave the DB that chance, even using his own savvy subtle physicality at the end to make sure he had space to haul in the catch.
"As soon as I got off the line I knew I had him beat, and he was going to pull me back so I had to fight off of it," Williams said.
He'd finish with 3 catches for a team-high 77 receiving yards and that touchdown, which gave the Trojans a 21-0 lead at the time on their way to a 38-21 win.
Make no mistake, losing Pittman would be a damaging blow for this team. He was inarguably USC's best player the previous three games and for stretches the only positive for this offense.
His 561 receiving yards, 20.8 yards per catch and 6 receiving touchdowns all lead the Trojans. He's acknowledged that his lingering shoulder issues undermined him at the start of the season, and if this is indeed an aggravation of that AC joint injury it could again have a lasting impact.
The only reassurance in that regard was the play of the true freshman and 4-star prospect who was ranked the No. 1 athlete in the 2018 signing class. He may not yet be ready to be Michael Pittman -- but he was certainly ready Saturday night to get everybody excited about Devov Williams.
"Pittman is obviously a first-round draft pick kind of guy. You hate to see him go down, but having Devon, Devon's been working his butt off this whole year. Obviously as you saw he was ready for his chance," Daniels said.
Daniels and Williams are roommates, and even though they're both first-year freshmen the young receiver has turned to the young QB for help whenever he's had a question about the offense.
Williams' quiet fall can be attributed to that developing command of the playbook, coupled with USC's wide receiver depth with veterans Pittman and Tyler Vaughns and star freshman Amon-Ra St. Brown locking down the bulk of the snaps this fall.
"When he came in, as with every single freshman in the history of football, they struggle with learning the playbook and more importantly learning their conversions and learning where to line up and certain things," Daniels said. "He was perfect tonight. Not a single missed assignment as far as I know. I trust him to be in the right spot, and he made every single play that came his way."
Williams is a soft-spoken guy, but his confidence in his abilities is palpable. And whether or not he needed this extra time to better grasp the offense, he feels he'd have been ready for his opportunity whenever it came.
"I feel like I was well-prepared in the beginning of the season, but I just had to wait my turn and fill the role for my big brother," he said. "As far as being comfortable, I felt very comfortable from the UNLV game."
Williams' presence now gives the Trojans some degree of comfort if Pittman needs to miss time.
He also gives the program and its fans plenty to look forward to into the future.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Williams is slender and speedy for his size with a skill set that should play very well in USC's downfield passing attack.
He and Daniels have worked to develop their own rapport and that showed Saturday night even with limited prior game reps between the two.
"He said my stride is different from everybody else's because I have a long stride, so our timing has to be better than everyone else. We have to work harder," Williams said of Daniels.
Most importantly, there seems to be a mutual trust there. Daniels didn't hesitate to go right back to Williams after the receiver let the DB disrupt his route on the first downfield shot. And Williams welcomed his QB's advice after that missed connection.
And whether Williams is needed in a larger role moving forward or if he keeps biding his time until next season, it seems a safe bet to presume the subsequent touchdown will end up being just one of many highlights piled up between the two.
"Especially since he's my roommate, we've pretty much just always clicked," Williams said. "Any time I have a question, I ask him. He's the man who won the job, so why not learn from him?"
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