When USC star wide Drake London had to be carted off the field Saturday evening, his ankle immediately put in an air cast and his face buried in his jersey as the moment sank in, it seemed likely that his season was probably over.

Trojans interim head coach Donte Williams confirmed that Sunday night, saying London sustained a fractured ankle.

"In those eight games he played, all the awards you can think of he deserves, whether it's the Biletnikoff, whether it's first-team All-American. The things he did for this team and this university, he was about to put up one of the best statistical seasons any receiver has ever put up in college football, and that's saying a lot," Williams said. "At the same time, yes, we're going to miss him as a player, but the things that people forget about is who he is as a person to this team. He's a team captain for a reason."

RELATED: USC teammates react to Drake London's injury

London leads all Power 5 receivers London with 88 catches for 1,091 yards and 7 touchdowns in seven and a half games. (He ranks second among all FBS players overall in receptions and third in yards now). He was also on pace to challenge USC's single-season receiving records.

London was on his way to another huge stat line Saturday in USC's 41-34 win over Arizona when the injury occurred.

As he hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart, Arizona cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace came down on the back of London's lower right leg, twisting his ankle awkwardly as the players' momentum carried them to the turf.

London remained down on the field in obvious pain until the cart was brought out and an air cast was applied to his right leg before he was taken to the locker room.

"He was still today in the team meeting, he still was high spirits, he still was walking around on his crutches, but he still was smiling and he still was one of the guys. He didn't look at it as like he was devastated and crying and by himself -- he was still here. That shows you once again what kind of person he is," Williams said. "He's a team leader and a team captain for a reason and still wanted to be around his guys and do everything he possibly can to lead them."

Nobody on the roster has even half as many catches as he does, with Tahj Washington (32 catches for 396 yards and 1 TD) next on the list and Gary Bryant Jr. (24-298-5) behind him.

Both players had nice games Saturday as Bryant tallied 3 catches for 89 yards and 2 TDs while Washington had 8 catches for 87 yards.

"I think it puts a great emphasis on those guys, but at the same time those aren't the guys who need to truly worry about stepping up -- it's everyone else," Williams said. "Like the guys that no one has got a chance to truly see yet, like the Michael Jackson's of the world, the Kyron Ware-Hudson's, the Joseph Manjacks and also puts even more emphasis on our tight ends," Williams said. "It's not one person that can take over Drake's role. It's going to be done collectively. They all need to step their game up and they will."

Redshirt sophomore Kyle Ford (2 catches for 20 yards Saturday) and redshirt junior John Jackson III are another players who could see a larger role, in addition to the tight end group.