With a visit to Southern California over the weekend, what seemed unthinkable a month ago began to feel possible. And with USC quarterback Jaxson Dart entering the transfer portal, it feels inevitable. Is this opening the door for Caleb Williams to follow Lincoln Riley to USC?
Seems like it.
In the statement he released when he entered the transfer portal, Caleb Williams made it clear he was looking for a place that could help him develop into an upper-echelon NFL draft prospect. Despite what’s gone down in the last month and a half, Riley still boasts three NFL quarterbacks, two of which will play in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs.
After just one season, Jaxson Dart’s departure from USC leaves an open door for the Trojans to bring in a frontline quarterback. Dart, a four-star quarterback in the 2021 recruiting cycle, played in six games, completing 62% of his passes for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. Not an outstanding freshman season, but for a team that saw a coaching change after just two games and devoid of talent, it’s understandable that he wasn’t the most prolific passer in the Pac-12.
USC's Jaxson Dart has entered the NCAA transfer portal. He immediately becomes one of the top quarterback talents in the portal. He was a @Rivals No. 5 dual threat QB coming out of high school last year.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 10, 2022
The transfer Sooners wide receiver indicated that he’d like Caleb Williams to be his quarterback wherever the talented true freshman signal-caller ended up. If Williams does end up at USC, he’s likely bringing wide receiver Mario Williams with him as well. Mario was in SoCal over the weekend as well for a visit with the Trojans.
The loss of Caleb Williams is a huge one, but it’s also one that Oklahoma prepared for and found an answer to with 2022 commit Nick Evers and transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel. They may not have the same number of stars next to their name or get the Heisman hype, but they’re good quarterbacks that will help the Oklahoma Sooners as they embark on the Brent Venables era.
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