Lincoln Rilley and Caleb Williams have been through two recruitments, with Williams first believing in Riley out of high school and moving from Washington, D.C., to Oklahoma, and then trusting him again in following his coach to USC after his freshman season.
They've celebrated a Heisman Trophy feat together, built such a close connection in working together daily that they've talked in the past about just knowing what the other one is thinking in certain situations.
But Riley said Thursday that he hasn't given any thought to the potential that Saturday in the Coliseum vs. UCLA could be the last time he coaches Williams in a college game.
"I haven't thought about that that much. Just kind of in the moment, in the moment here for the opportunity. We haven't had any specific discussions towards it," Riley said. "... We obviously spend a lot of time together, so we've both just stayed hyper-focused on trying to do our jobs and be at our best and try to help us win a rivalry game this week. So honestly, it's just kind of been business as normal this week."
USC fans, meanwhile, are thinking plenty about it -- frustrated that such an elite talent at the quarterback position could end his career without another shot at the conference championship (or more), but also hopefully ready to appreciate one more performance in the Coliseum, if it is indeed his last.
All of that finality, of course, is hinging on whether Williams chooses to pursue the 2024 NFL Draft -- which seems almost a certainty given his status as a projected top pick -- and in turn whether he would hang around for a relatively low-stakes bowl game.
"If I make the decision to leave, I'll have to make that decision towards the end of it. Since we're not playing Thanksgiving, I get to be around my family and things like that, get to make certain decisions that I haven't made yet," Williams said Wednesday. "But obviously, if I'm staying here at USC, I don't think I'd not be out there. So it's just a decision I have to make that hasn't been made yet."
Said Riley: "We'll have obviously plenty of time for all those discussions with the way that the schedule laid out for Caleb and other players on this team. One of the advantages for us right now is we're going to have a little bit more time here with the bye week as well that's a little bit unusual but can certainly be to our advantage, so we'll have that at the appropriate time."
As it stands, Williams has passed for 3,249 yards, 29 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season (67.9 completion percentage) while rushing for 11 scores as well through 11 games this season.
It's fairly comparable to the pace that won him the Heisman last year when he passed for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and 5 interceptions (66.6 percent completion rate) with 10 rushing touchdowns over 14 games.
Williams is currently No. 1 in the country in points responsible for (244), No. 2 in the nation in points responsible for per game (22.2), passing TDs (29) and passing yards (3,249), No. 6 in passing efficiency (172.1) and No. 9 in in total offense (310.0).
Even playing just two seasons, Williams already ranks sixth in program history in career passing yards (7,786 and counting and total offense (8,324 yards), fifth in passing touchdowns (71) and holds the USC single-season records from last year for total offense (4,919 yards), most touchdowns scored rushing and passing (52), passing completions (333), passes attempted (500), most passing yards (4,537), most touchdown passes (42), most rushing and passing plays (613) and lowest rate of interceptions (1%, 5 in 500 attempts) and highest passing efficiency rating (168.5).
"Just extremely thankful for the player and person that he is, and the teammate he is and the leader he is," left tackle Jonah Monheim said. "Love the guy to death. Appreciate all that he's given to this program, to us as a team and to himself -- he's earned everything he's gotten."
Williams was asked how he wants to be remembered ...
"I honestly haven't thought [about] anything like that, but I'd say a player that went out there and gave his all every chance he got," Williams said. "I'd say a player that cared for his teammates. I'd say a player that wanted to go out there and win every single game that we had. I'd say those, and obviously as a player, you want to go down and try to be one of the best and greatest players ever."
He achieved that with his Heisman win last year.
Meanwhile, Williams acknowledged that he didn't see this team losing four games (so far) or much else that's transpired, with USC falling out of the Pac-12 race, nowhere near the College Football Playoff discussion and the QB not in line to be back in New York City as a repeat Heisman finalist.
He's had the spotlight affixed on him every step of the way this fall with critics eager to pounce every time something didn't go right or Williams was captured by TV cameras expressing the same emotional investment in the game that also drove him to all his successes.
"Yeah, it’s definitely tested him, there’s no question. Winning a Heisman and doing it in this city and this program is certainly – winning a Heisman, you’re going to get a ton of attention anyway, but doing it here, at this time, again in LA and USC, there’s a lot to it," Riley said. "I think he’s learned a lot. I think he’s grown a lot, matured a lot kind of through it all. Even though he’s had a decent amount of attention relative to his age coming up, this has still been a new experience, new challenge, I think one that will serve him well going forward and probably serve us well going forward.
"We expect we’ll have many other guys that will do great things and still come back and play here."
In addition to a wave of new critics this fall looking to pick him apart after the stature he earned a year ago, Williams has also dealt with an unrelenting wave of speculation and contrived or forced narratives about how he'll handle the NFL draft and his future.
Many posited that he wouldn't finish out the regular season after USC's College Football Playoff hopes all but evaporated with the loss to Utah last month.
Within the program, his teammates just shook their head at the talk.
"Honestly, me knowing Caleb, when I saw that online, I didn't ask him, I didn't talk to him about it, I knew what it was," running back MarShawn Lloyd said. "I knew what type of player he is, I knew what type of leader he is. Caleb's a competitor. He's a competitor, he believes in himself and he also believes in this team. I knew that ... Caleb was going to go until the brakes fall off."
Said Williams: "I'd say just the nature of how I was raised and being around these guys all year-round, I work out with them, all year-round we run, lift, we go out and have fun together, we enjoy each other's presence, so it means the world to me to be able to end this season off, this regular season being with these guys. I had the opportunity to leave, yeah. I had the opportunity to, like you said, forgo, but that was never really the thought process of leaving these guys behind and forgoing those last four games or whatever it was. No, I was going to stick it out with these guys regardless of whatever decision I was going to make."
While Williams has never closed the door on returning for his final year of eligibility, it would be stunning if he isn't walking across the stage at the NFL draft in April as one of the very top picks and very possibly No. 1 overall.
Riley more or less made it clear what his advice to the QB will be ...
“That part’s been always easy for me because I do very much care about my players, and guys that have come through our program that have done well and are ready to take that next step where it makes sense to take that next step, I’ve never shied away from advising them on that," he said Thursday.
If that's the plan, a low-stakes bowl game in Las Vegas or San Diego or elsewhere probably doesn't serve much purpose to Williams, when he could be training for the NFL combine and not risking injury. That's become an expected move for projected top draft picks (and others) in recent years, which is why Saturday could well be the end.
And if so, that alone makes USC's regular-season finale with UCLA must-see for all Trojans fans, on top of the natural rivalry draw.
It's not the ending he, his teammates or the fans would have preferred, but the fact remains, Caleb Williams made USC football very compelling these last two years and his legacy with the program is stamped with at least one more chance to add to a loaded highlight reel of spinning scrambles, darts downfield on the run and everything else that makes watching Williams one of the true treats in college football.
"We’ll see obviously what happens after this, but for a guy like him now, been together for three years, no matter what happens going forward, it’s certainly been a tremendous ride," Riley said.
