Sure seems to have all the physical tools to dominate college .
But as I posted below, he appears to have hit his ceiling .
And that ceiling appears to be between his ears.
And he's not an idiot. He is a millionaire teenager that plays like he thinks he can just out-Talent everyone else on the field. And most of the time because of that talent, he has gotten away with it.
It's been mentioned by various posters that he doesn't go through his progressions and forces the ball downfield especially early in the count. He doesn't slide. He doesn't toss it out of bounds when there is nothing there and no where to run. Oregon state just dropped 8, sat in deep zones and he tried to force it anyways. He doesn't seemed to have learned from, well anything he does. He's a one man's show and he knows it. So far it's working but SC hasn't really played anyone yet.
So how does 162 coach stubbornness out of a millionaire teenager and help him to reach his potential?
You can see how hard he's trying on the sideline. Kid just doesn't appear to be interested in listening, at least at the early point in his career. He's 6 and 0. That can't make it any easier. I think this is the biggest challenge for our head coach.
"Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent".
Maybe 162 can have Carson or maybe even Leinart or maybe even Rodney Peete (if it has to come from a brother) give him some insight on what it will take to get to his dream and make it at the next level if that's all he cares about . No way what he does now gets him drafted on the first day. Not a chance in hell. When is the last time any quarterback, no matter how much of a talent freak made it in the NFL that didn't go through his progressions, slide, or throw the ball away. just a thought. sc
He is not an uncoachable mongoloid, maybe his coach has reached his ceiling and this is it?
Hard to argue with what you are saying but I would add the drops certainly didn’t help. I seem to recall at least 3 drops that killed huge gains and opportunities for momentum
I am no football coach but when I watch the USC games I find myself yelling at the TV it’s not illegal to run the ball. To many times with second and 3-5,yards why not run the damn ball and get your first down. Love Riley but run the damn ball more.
"Superman" doesn't help. Hell, he did great against Rice. When Charles White was Soph, he talked about winning 3 Heismans. The coaches lined him up against a senior defensive lineman who broke his nose. But then CW was not a millionaire at that time.
It's obvious that Caleb has excellent accuracy, touch, mobility and pocket awareness. His weakness is progressions and a related propensity to lock onto a route or receiver.
He has progressed since Stanford. It's kinda silly to judge him harshly as uncoachable when he has been coached up in many areas.
https://www.dynastynerds.com/devy-report-caleb-williams-vs-stanford/amp/
Todays coaches must be part psychiatrist, part psychologist, and a football genius to boot. I remember once, Al MsGuire , the basketball coach at Marquette who won a NCAA title at Marquette when asked why he never thought about going to NBA for bigger money said that he had been offered jobs but when told the owner he only would take the job if he was paid one dollar more than the highest paid player on the team. That ended any discussions. His point was he wanted the power. And he knew it was the players who had it in the NBA. He also had a son who was the starting point guard for him and he was honest with other point guard recruits that as long as he was coach his son was going start period. Great character and great coach
This is what happens when you don't introduce competition during practices. Why should he listen. He was annointed.
I think he’s a sophomore that needs more coaching. Definitely a teachable moment right now.
I’m on both sides of this fence. He’s usc best option. He’s got mad talent. He’s everything you say. And as I suggested a couple weeks ago he is far from a first rounder right now. People thought I jumped on him early for that.
i have coached a bunch of kids. Thousand or so. I’ve had about two dozen who had unreal talent. Physical size. Speed. Arm strength etc. But everyone needs help. Needs to get to the next level. At some point the kids stop listening. Might be parents telling them they’re going to the Show. Might be them thinking they stand above and are the best on a great travel team.
my point is. I have put about a dozen players into college and 3 to professional ball. And I don’t personally feel I got through to any of them. One is stuck at AA right now and I would guess his team would say he’s maxed out. Was a first round pick. Another also topped out at AA and just announced he’s gay or something. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ So their heads aren’t in the right place and I’m amazed they got this far. Qb are like baseball players. It’s all about the dad. Want to see where Caleb’s head is at? Look at pop.
and as you rmember. Pop is basically his agent. As many are at this stage. Pop is open about his kid being in college to be the #1 overall pick. $$$$ maximize. How is Riley supposed to get through to this kid? I couldn’t get through to 15 year olds. Who were insulated from la being up in vv. My gosh my kids wouldnhabe heads the size of basketballs if they got all that Orange County attention with their stats. I can’t imagine having to coach williams with him being paid. A dad Who is an agent. And all this “I am Superman” crap
you’ll also notice rimey is loathe to ever use negative words. Or even hint at criticizing him I don’t know if that is the modern reality of coaching. Knowing that if you criticize the kid can head right out the door? Or whether that is handling Caleb’s veneer which is pretty clearly just a front.
he’s not Superman. He’s knows he’s not. He’s just trying to play a role. For his dad and his own future.
where to go from here? I think if you’re Riley the answer is to just repeat yourself on the practice field and in the film room. Problem There is that you become a broken record
my opinion is it would help if usc had 3-4 quality younG qb. Which also brings me to my next point. We saw Miller Maas for about one possession against Fresno or Stanford or somebody. And since then? Nothing. That’s probably the product of being in tight games. But it also means Williams has no pressure from behind and USC is walking a tight rope. Because they are one injury away from having their season fall apart
Let Caleb, the rest of the team and the coaches work through things.
”Brick by brick my citizens, brick by brick, Rome will not be rebuilt in a day.” It’s not just Caleb. Imagine the offense with an impressive OL.
Good points. The mental aspect of his game certainly does need more development. He is a sophomore, a bit full of himself. This is expected. There is a high ceiling in this respect, but he is no dummy. A sit down with Rodney just might work.
He also gives up on some plays and makes it obvious by walking out of bounds, almost taunting defenders closing in on him as he’s looking right at them. Non verbally telling them, “I’m in total control.”
Yes, a lot of what you wrote is true. he’s starting to show he’s not mature enough (yet?) for the position he holds.
Love the kid’s talent. Also love our head coach. Time for daddy to sit him down and have a tough and honest discussion. Another possible key to fix this would be to bring in his real daddy, but only if he recognizes the problem and truly wants the best for his kid. Not an easy fix. As you pointed out, a 19 year old millionaire