Caleb Williams tapped his teammates on their shoulder pads as he walked behind them to his chair within the interview room.
As soon as seated, the 19-year-old USC quarterback threw his head again and exhaled.
Williams was the youngest of the 5 Trojans on the dais however clearly essentially the most snug.
The others had been typical school gamers. They selected their phrases fastidiously. They had been virtually frozen on stage.
Williams seemed as if he had been in his personal lounge as he mirrored on USC’s spring recreation.
He raised his eyebrows.
He furrowed them.
He smiled.
He laughed.
He gritted his tooth.
He didn’t say a lot, however he didn’t must. His expressive face and calm demeanor conveyed what was essential, which is that he's constructed for the highlight.
A sophomore switch who adopted coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, Williams is the participant who most symbolizes this new period of USC soccer.
Which, by extension, may make him Los Angeles’ subsequent celebrity athlete.
The glorified scrimmage on Saturday amounted to a public unveiling, however Williams handled it like, properly, a glorified scrimmage.
“I don’t actually get nervous,” he stated with a nonchalant supply that emphasised his level.
USC claimed the introduced crowd of 33,427 was the biggest to observe a spring recreation since attendance information had been first stored within the late Nineteen Nineties, however Williams was unfazed.
He accomplished his first 9 passes. He completed his first two drives with landing passes to Mario Williams, one other sophomore switch from Oklahoma.
Alternating drives with backup quarterback Miller Moss over two 15-minute halves, Williams was 10 for 12 passing for 98 yards.
“He’s getting extra snug,” Riley stated. “He’s changing into a extra seasoned, skilled quarterback.”
He’s already electrical.
Williams can run, as he confirmed on the primary play of his second drive when he pump-faked and bolted down the proper sideline for an eight-yard acquire.
He can throw, as he demonstrated on the following play when he lofted a superbly weighted go that traveled practically 30 yards within the air as defensive lineman Tyrone Taleni was closing in on him. Receiver Terrell Bynum was on the opposite finish of the 29-yard completion.
“The quarterback place, to win championships, you want that place to play properly,” Riley stated.
Williams wasn’t good, nonetheless, following his two scoring drives with a few successive three-and-outs.
If the disappointing second half was a helpful reminder of his youth, his response to it may very well be considered as a supply of optimism.
“Starting was strong,” Williams stated. “The tip, not so strong. Obtained to get higher shifting the ball within the second half. That’s all the time massive. All the time a brand new recreation if you come on the market within the second half.”
He didn’t sound panicked, and even barely involved.
Williams sounded as if he knew the place the Trojans had been, and the place they had been headed.
“It was superior, popping out right here, getting in entrance of a pair followers, having ESPN and all that, exhibiting the general public what we’re going to be, and we’re not even near what we’re going to be,” he stated.
Williams turns 20 in November however carries himself as if he’s considerably older. He's listed as 6 ft 1 and 215 kilos however performs a lot greater.
His cool confidence has made different gamers gravitate towards him and acknowledge him as their chief.
“He’s that dude,” receiver Brenden Rice stated throughout spring apply.
Williams has embraced that position, conscious of what he has to do to alter this system’s tradition.
“We have now a management group,” Williams stated. “We meet each week or so. One of many greatest issues is that elite groups are led by the gamers, held accountable by the gamers. Good groups, they’re led by their coaches, held accountable by the coaches. The poor groups, there’s no person that does that. We’ve been making an attempt to be the elite group.”
The “it” issue that others describe in Williams shall be obligatory as he shoulders the inflated expectations of a rejuvenated fan base that was overwhelmed down, and sometimes humiliated, over Clay Helton’s tenure.
Lower than a yr faraway from his highschool commencement, the outdated soul with the youthful smile sounds able to tackle that accountability.
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