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Pete ThamelESPN
USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams‘ first week on campus includes some of the typical trappings of college life. He has papers due on art history, ageism and cultural dance. He’s introducing himself to new teammates, hunting for a new apartment and got cleared to work out in time for a team run on Monday.
There are also aspects of Williams’ transfer from Oklahoma that aren’t covered in any collegiate handbook. He appeared on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, plans to attend the Super Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend and announced a third name, image and likeness (NIL) deal — this one with Ac+ion Water — this week.
A 2021 freshman All-American, Williams is one of 13 transfers who joined new football coach Lincoln Riley’s first signing class at USC, and he’s one of three players to make the move from Oklahoma. Williams’ presence at USC could serve as a lure for more high-profile transfers to go to USC — “I hope so,” he said — and Williams said he has had numerous players reach out to ask about the transfer process and USC.
While Williams has been at the L.A. campus only a week, he can already see big things for the Trojans.
“I want USC to be back to what USC was,” he told ESPN on Wednesday. “I want USC to be back to the old USC that everyone thinks of. It’s been a rough couple of years, but we’ve got the right coaches and players in place. The guys want to win. We’re going to bring some other guys in that are going to be impact players for us.”
He added that his recruiting pitch is simple: “This is going to be so special. We’re not going to win later — we’re going to win now.”
Williams said his first impression of the USC football program is that there are a lot of similarities in structure to how Riley ran things at Oklahoma. He did notice some small tweaks — such as working out in different rotations — but there’s plenty of program carryover.
“It is a little weird,” Williams said. “Most of the things are the same. It’s like weird having all the new colors and helmets and teammates and faces and living in a different location and seeing palm trees on the practice field.”
Part of USC football being back to prominence will be the school and the players channeling the natural resources of Los Angeles — both in recruiting and to leverage the school’s brand and platform for NIL deals.
The timing of Williams’ move to USC was viewed in the college sports industry as a potentially transformative one. Both the NIL and one-time transfer rules passed within the past year, and Williams and his team at Smith & Company have taken advantage by already announcing deals with Beats by Dre, Faculty (a grooming company in which he has an ownership stake) and now Ac+ion Water, which focuses on hydrating athletes.
“We’re going to do more, obviously,” Williams said of the NIL deals. “I still have two years left in college. Don’t really have exact dates for certain things or what’s next yet. Just got to school and got to actually be around my guys and go to school and focus on football and get ready for the season. There will be more.”
For now, though, Williams is scrambling to adjust.
“I’m still going through the whirlwind,” Williams said. He added: “It’s been pretty real, but I’m at this new place. There’s a lot of good people in place to help. I’ve been doing well and knocking things out. I’m not too far off from catching up and getting ahead.”