Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams Reveals Near Transfer To UCLA Bruins Over USC Trojans

The USC Trojans have had their fair share of ups and downs during the Lincoln Riley tenure so far. However, when the Trojans reeled in Caleb Williams through the transfer portal, it felt as though USC had successfully returned to the national stage.

After arriving in Southern California, Williams went on to win the 2023 Heisman Award winner and was the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Safe to say, Williams will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in school history, but what if he never transferred to the Trojans?

Dec 22, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) passes against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images | Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

Williams appeared on the St. Brown Podcast, hosted by former Trojan and current Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Willims revealed that when he entered the transfer portal after his freshman year at Oklahoma in 2022, he came close to signing with UCLA before ultimately landing with USC.

"When all of that went down, I was more angry at [coach Riley]," Williams said. "At first, I was going to go to UCLA just to play against him. I'm petty. I went on a whole UCLA visit. I went on a couple other visits too. I went to UCLA and LSU, but it really came down to USC and UCLA just because I wanted to beat him because he left."

It didn't take long for Williams to realize that Riley and the Trojans were the best landing spot available for the former top quarterback recruit.

"Then we sat down and talked, and had a couple of FaceTime talks," Williams said. "From there it was like, okay, I'm going to forgive you and we can make this work and make [expletive happen]."

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usv — Oct 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws against the Arizona Wildcats during the second overtime at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The decision to follow Riley to USC worked out in the long run for everyone involved, except for UCLA, who struck out on arguably the best transfer portal quarterback of all time.

USC got to add another Heisman winner to their ranks and cement their status as one of the prominent programs on the West Coast. Williams found personal success, on and off the field. He signed NIL deals with Alo, Dr. Pepper, and Beats By Dre, won numerous amount of awards, and was drafted first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Riley got to work with Williams for two more years and set up the Trojans for success by signing a quarterback that elevated their program, which prior to Williams' arrival, was down on its luck. The success of Williams' was another indicator that Riley is seriously one of the best quarterback developers in the country

It's hard to imagine what life could've been like for USC without the Maryland native. Williams' time as a Trojans was unforgettable. During the peak of his Heisman-winning campaign in 2023, he was truly must watch television. In just two seasons at USC, Williams racked up 8,170 passing yards and 72 touchdowns. He threw only ten interceptions between the two years combined.

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