Caleb Williams transferred from Oklahoma to USC, following Lincoln Riley after his freshman college season. So, he knows all about change.
Still, it wasn’t easy to see offensive coordinator and play caller Shane Waldron fired Nov. 12, and then head coach Matt Eberflus let go three weeks later.
“The human aspect of it weighs on you a little bit, especially this being my first year, this being my first head coach that drafted me,” Williams said Wednesday, via Scott Bair of marqueesportsnetwork.com. “So there’s a human part of it, and then the business side has to kick in and say, ‘I understand it.’ I don’t really have control of it, but I have to roll with the punches and understand and move on and try and help this team win the best way that I can.”
Williams has adapted a “keep-going” mantra and is choosing to look at the changes as a learning opportunity since they aren’t something he can control.
“I think this is a steppingstone of development, to be able to have all of this in my first year,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say that I’m happy for it. Having these moments is definitely something that will help me in the future. Having these situational moments that it’s hard to rep in practice, having some of these moments, having your coach fired or coaches fired and people being promoted. You know, things like that all happening within a couple weeks of each other, I think it would help me in the long run being able to handle all of this, being able to handle this first year and being able to grow from it.
“Down the line I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be. And so being able to handle it my first year, handle a new playbook, handle all these different changes, handle all of this, I think it definitely will help the development instead of hurting it or anything like that.”
It has been an up-and-down season for the No. 1 overall pick, who won’t win offensive rookie of the year with a 4-8 record, 2,612 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
