NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Heisman Trophy is back home in Southern California thanks to USC QB, Caleb Williams. Williams is the first USC player to win the award since Reggie Bush and his remarkable season back in 2005. Williams displayed a mental and physical toughness and was the catalyst to a USC team that went 11-2 on the season but fell short of the CFB Playoff by one game.
Williams garnered 544 first-place votes (2031) while Max Duggan (1420) came in second with 188. Rounding out the final two finalists were C.J. Stroud (539) of Ohio State with 37 and Stetson Bennett (349) of Georgia with 36.
While many experts predicted Caleb Williams to walk away with the trophy, the voters had to take into consideration the other top players. Everything has to be played out accordingly.
Caleb Williams Was Well Deserving Of The Heisman
In a season where many players earned the right to take the stage in New York City to represent their school, it was one who stood above the rest. What made this award so special for Williams was not just his performance on the field, but the journey he took to get there.
Leaving Oklahoma after just one season to follow Lincoln Riley drew some skeptics. Oklahoma was being touted as a national powerhouse while USC was in straight rebuild mode. But that’s what a single player and coach can do. In 2021, USC went 4-8 but after the arrival of Riley and Williams, there was a 7-win increase and national exposure.
On the year, Caleb Williams passed for 4075 Passing Yards, 37 Passing Touchdowns, and just 4 Interceptions. If that wasn’t enough to get the voter’s attention, Williams also rushed for 372 yards and 10 Rushing Touchdowns. He was the dual threat on the field.
As most analysts do, there are always comparisons to NFL players. For Williams, the label of “Superman” has also drawn comparisons to a certain QB lighting up the league in Kansas City for the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is the name often mentioned when speaking with Caleb Williams.
This is what Williams had to say when the comparisons between him and Mahomes were brought up;
It’s pretty cool, I’d say,” Williams said. “Just because everybody watches Patrick (Mahomes) and sees all the cool things he can do. I always said, even in high school, that I don’t think there’s anything — obviously, (Patrick Mahomes is) special — but I don’t think there’s anything that I can’t do that he’s doing out there. I think it’s really cool and I’ve had comparisons to a bunch of other people, but Patrick (Mahomes) is pretty cool.
Even with the comparison, there is one thing that Williams does hold over the Super Bowl winner. Only one of them has a Heisman trophy under his belt. But for Williams, this is just the start. He will head into the 2022-23 CFB season as a clear favorite to earn another trip to NYC. With the way his and the Trojans’ season ended, is there anyone willing to bet against him?
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