USC's Williams wins Heisman after leading Trojan turnaround

Caleb Williams brought sizzle, excitement and prima powerfulness backmost to Southern California football.

And present the Heisman Trophy, too.

Williams, the dynamic backmost who was the catalyst for the Trojans' turnaround season, won the Heisman connected Saturday nighttime to marque USC the archetypal schoolhouse to instrumentality location assemblage football's astir prestigious subordinate of the twelvemonth grant 8 times.

Williams received 544 first-place votes and 2,031 points to easy outpoint TCU backmost Max Duggan (1,420).

Williams, who played past play astatine Oklahoma, is the 4th transportation to triumph the Heisman successful the past six years, joining Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018) of Oklahoma and Joe Burrow (2019) of LSU.

Ohio State backmost C.J. Stroud was 3rd successful the voting aft coming successful 4th past season. Georgia backmost Stetson Bennett, the archetypal Bulldogs' subordinate to be the award's presentations successful 30 years, finished fourth. The top-ranked Bulldogs volition look Stroud and the fourth-ranked Buckeyes successful the College Football Playoff connected Dec. 31.

Duggan and the third-ranked Horned Frogs volition play No. 2 Michigan successful the different CFP semifinal connected New Year's Eve.

"I whitethorn beryllium lasting up present today, but y'all get to the College Football Playoffs. Guess you can't triumph 'em all," Williams said arsenic helium started his acceptance code by thanking the different finalists.

Before taking clasp of his large bronze trophy, Williams hugged Mike Garrett, USC's archetypal Heisman victor successful 1965, Garrett was 1 of 23 erstwhile winners — and 3 erstwhile Trojans on with Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer — to be the ceremonial adjacent Lincoln Center.

Williams was arsenic meticulous and thorough with his 10-minute code arsenic helium is preparing for a game. And astir arsenic poised arsenic erstwhile helium plays.

Williams got a small choked up talking astir manager Lincoln Riley, who helium followed from Norman to Los Angeles, and truly had to clasp it unneurotic erstwhile thanking his parents.

He called his mother, Dayna, who paints his nails with a motivational connection earlier each game, the astir important pistillate successful his life.

He thanked his father, Carl, for instilling a relentless worthy ethic.

"You're ever determination for maine making sacrifices successful your beingness truthful I tin execute my dreams, which yet became our dreams," Caleb Williams said.

He finished with USC's conflict cry: "Dreams truly bash travel true. Thank you, and combat on."

Williams and No. 8 USC fell abbreviated of the Pac-12 title and a spot successful the playoff, but it was inactive a rebirth for a assemblage shot bluish humor that has had lone abbreviated spurts of occurrence implicit the past decade.

The past clip USC had a Heisman victor was 2005, erstwhile moving backmost Reggie Bush was the 2nd of consecutive Trojans players to triumph the award. Leinart won the Heisman successful 2004 connected the mode to a nationalist championship.

Bush's Heisman win, the Trojans' seventh, was aboriginal vacated for NCAA violations that began the descent of USC.

Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma each person 7 Heisman victories.

The Trojans anticipation a revival is underway, led by Riley and Williams. With the 2 of them orchestrating 1 of the nation's astir prolific offenses, USC went from 4-8 past play to 11-2 and a Cotton Bowl bid this year.

"These idiosyncratic awards aren't wherefore we bash it, they are not wherefore Caleb does it, but they're grounds that there's a batch of large things going on," Riley said. "Because, let's beryllium honest, Heisman winners don't amusement up connected mean teams."

Williams is the epitome of the modern assemblage shot star. As a five-star enlistee from Washington, helium has been a personage since precocious school.

At the property of 10, Williams and his begetter began plotting a way to greatness. The to-do database included winning a Heisman.

As a freshman astatine Oklahoma past year, Williams came disconnected the seat to rally the Sooners past rival Texas and instantly became 1 of the assemblage football's astir breathtaking players.

Williams jumped into the transportation portal successful the offseason and wherever helium would play adjacent became 1 of the biggest stories successful sports. He amassed an extended and lucrative endorsement portfolio earlier ever playing a crippled for the Trojans.

Thanks to 1 of his NIL deals, Williams was capable to bring 8 of USC violative lineman with him to the Heisman ceremonial successful New York.

When the games did start, Williams delivered connected the committedness and potential.

He passed for 4.075 yards, 37 touchdowns and conscionable 4 interceptions, mounting a USC grounds for full discourtesy with 4.447 yards. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound sophomore besides ran for 10 touchdowns, drafting comparisons to Chiefs' prima Patrick Mahomes for his quality to improvise and present cleanable passes from a assortment of limb angles.

Williams finished with a kick, accounting for 7 touchdowns successful Top-25 victories against UCLA and Notre Dame that enactment USC successful playoff position.

The Trojans could not adjacent the deal, losing the Pac-12 rubric crippled to Utah with Williams hobbling done overmuch of the crippled with a strained hamstring. Still, helium threw for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns to springiness USC a chance, and solidified his presumption arsenic Heisman frontrunner.

Williams is the 19th backmost to triumph the Heisman since 2000, the 3rd from USC and the 3rd to bash it aft transferring to play for Riley. Mayfield and Murray took akin paths.

Riley said Williams' operation of elite carnal tools and assurance beyond his years separates him from adjacent the different large players helium has coached.

"He's truthful bare to get better. But he's besides truthful fearless successful the moment." Riley said.

Williams is the sixth sophomore, and 2nd straight, to triumph the Heisman. Alabama's Bryce Young won the Heisman successful his 2nd play past year, and finished sixth successful the voting this year, down Tennessee backmost Hendon Hooker.

Williams volition go the latest subordinate with a accidental to articulation Ohio State's Archie Griffin (1974-75) arsenic a two-time Heisman winner.

But first, it's clip to find immoderate abstraction for different trophy astatine USC's Heritage Hall. Williams has made Southern California Heisman U. again.