Caleb Williams’ self-expression is not a character issue

Dumping hate onto USC quarterback Caleb Williams for painted nails is embarrassing and something we should learn to leave behind

It seems like every few years around draft time we have a curious case of a talented young player being brought into the media spotlight and being unreasonably crucified for things outside of his tape, or quite frankly anything having to do with his football skillset. Cam Newton himself faced criticism seemingly out of nowhere for possessing a “fake smile” and being a personality fans and media immediately loved to hate. This year, another probably number one overall pick in USC quarterback Caleb Williams faces similar negative feedback and it could not be more narrow-minded and silly.

Williams has been attacked seemingly all offseason long over his choices of self-expression. From wearing nail polish, his phone case color, crying in his mother’s arms after a emotionally exhausting loss, and his general laid-back demeanor, Williams is getting put through the wringer for all the worst reasons.

Only a NFL fanbase full of fragile men who cherish the idea of deeply insecure self-held masculinity could see the generational talent that is Caleb Williams and choose to try and define him by such simplistic things. Gen Z and the athletes contained within in it are some of the most expressive and true-to-self characters we have seen in modern sports, and that is very much a good thing.

NFL front offices certainly are not going to take issue with Williams’ nails or phone case, and it is silly that we even need to have the discussion. Williams is a top level talent the likes of which we haven’t seen since Andrew Luck. His talent being undermined by personal fashion choices and self-expression makes it hard to take fan criticism seriously.

The noise that this non-issue has created has peeled back some of the uglier side of NFL fandom that is laced in homophobia and toxic masculinity. Perhaps if you evaluate Williams by his self-expression, you should do an evaluation of your own character instead and allow young players to be their own fantastic individuals.

USC football just got two top 2025 recruits and flipped a Georgia 5-star commit

USC football flipped the commitment of Justus Terry from the Bulldogs and got another Georgia high school recruit in Isaiah Gibson.

The USC Trojans had a superb Sunday, landing a pair of high-level 2025 football recruits in moves that don’t just help their program but also hamper the class of major contenders.

USC secured the commitment of four-star edge rusher Isaiah Gibson and flipped the commitment of five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry, winning him from Georgia’s program. Terry told 247Sports the decision was a “no-brainer.”

“No. 1 business school in the country, I want to study business entrepreneurship. Coach Henny (Eric Henderson) is good with developing players and I want to be a part of this journey with him,” Terry said to the outlet. “I trust his coaching and the way he plans on utilizing me!”

Pulling the commitment from the Bulldogs was a massive deal, considering Terry attends Manchester High School in Georgia. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman told 247Sports he wants to “expand his life” after hailing from a small town.

Terry is ranked the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 8 overall player in the class of 2025. According to MaxPreps, he had 78 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 13.0 sacks as a junior.

USC further expanded its front seven by also landing Gibson, an edge rusher that 247Sports thinks is also among the best 20 players in the class of 2025 (though its composite has him at No. 76, still a four-star player). Listed at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Gibson had 38 offers, according to the recruiting outlet.

Gibson previously told On3 that his top four were Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Oregon, and the coaching and culture stood out among them.

With that said, while it was a direct coup of Georgia like Terry, USC snuck a second homegrown player out of the Bulldogs’ lap. Gibson attends Warner Robins in Georgia, where he was named an honorable mention on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s all-state team last year.

Gibson and Terry give the Trojans their second and third commits in the class of 2025. Though the number isn’t particularly high, the quality is elite, with those two highly ranked players joining five-star quarterback Julian Lewis in the class.

2024 NFL draft: Chargers hosted USC WR Brenden Rice on top-30 visit

The Chargers are looking at a middle-round wide receiver.

According to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, the Chargers hosted USC wide receiver Brenden Rice on a top-30 visit.

Brenden, the son of Hall of Fame NFL receiver Jerry Rice, caught for 791 yards and a team-leading 12 touchdowns during the 2023 regular season.

Before his two seasons with the Trojans, Rice played for Colorado. For his four-year collegiate career between the Buffalos and USC, Rice had 1,812 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns.

At 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, Rice is a big-bodied wideout with decent route-running skills, but his game is predicated on physicality and using his strong hands to engulf passes thrown to him.

Rice was a Reese’s Senior Bowl attendee.

If the Chargers are looking to address the positional group in the middle rounds, Rice could be a potential option.

Why the Rams should monitor D’Anton Lynn’s progress at USC

With constant coaching changes in the NFL, teams need to be on the lookout for talent. The Rams have a ascending one in their backyard.

It can not be disputed that the NFL is a cutthroat business and job security seems like a word of fiction for an institution that has a coined term for its yearly firings titled “Black Monday.”

I say this with respect to Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Shula was an in-house hire, taking over defensive play-calling duties from the departing Raheem Morris. Shula, a member of the Rams’ coaching staff since 2017 and the grandson of the legendary Don Shula, has never held a coordinator position before this year. In a league with star players and evolving schemes, perhaps Shula may struggle. Perhaps he may need more time as a position coach.

If Shula struggles in his new role, the Rams need to be in a position to make a quick hire in a few years before top candidates get taken off the free-agent market. Someone that the Rams should be monitoring is USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.

Lynn, the son of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, enters his first season with the Trojans. Lynn made a shocking move this offseason from UCLA and is quickly making a name for himself on the collegiate circuit. Lynn was hired by UCLA in 2023 from the Baltimore Ravens, where he served the AFC North franchise as their safeties coach from 2021-2022.

At UCLA, Lynn excelled. His defense played lights out in the points-happy Pac-12 conference. Averaging only 18 points surrendered per game on defense, Lynn’s squad was firing on all cylinders. They held the expected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft, Caleb Williams, to 20 points in the Victory Bell. They held then Heisman candidate Cam Ward to 17 points in the Bruins; upset victory over the No. 13-ranked Washington State Cougars. Ward the previous week threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in the Cougars’ victory over No. 14 Oregon State. UCLA held teams to 14 or fewer points on five occasions.

Lynn is now inheriting one of the worst defenses in college football. In 2023, USC surrendered 28 or more points per game 11 times. They played 13 games. If Lynn turns them around, that would be two Power Five program revamps in two years. As a player developer, both expected first-round pick Laiatu Latu and his pass-rushing partner Gabriel Murphy will be drafted this year. He has it all.

Lynn also comes from the Baltimore school of defense, an organization pumping out defensive minds like crazy. Mike Macdonald was a longtime Ravens position coach who got his opportunity with the Michigan Wolverines as a play caller and is now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Jesse Minter, another Harbaugh football disciple, was a longtime position coach with the Ravens before he replaced Macdonald at Michigan. Minter follows Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers as his defensive coordinator.

God forbid anything happens that would require the Rams to move on from Shula, Lynn is currently making a name for himself. With Sean McVay’s track record of hiring coaches from college, Lynn is a name for the future.

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named AP First Team All-American

What a season she’s had.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has had a special freshman season at Notre Dame, and now, we know exactly how special. She has joined USC’s JuJu Watkins as the fourth and fifth freshmen to be named to the AP All-American First Team since it began during the 1994-95 season. They join Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and Texas’ Madison Booker.

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Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb obviously has seen Watkins up close and personal throughout this season, but she reserved praise for Hidalgo, too:

“We’ve had a front row seat to JuJu, but what Hannah’s done is unbelievable Coach Niele (Ivey) has done an incredible job.”

Ivey also was quoted in the AP story and said this about Hidalgo, the nation’s steals leader at 4.6 a game and its third-leading scorer at 23.3 points a game:

“She deserves to be listed amongst the best in women’s basketball. Hannah is a fierce competitor and an elite performer who rises to the occasion and has been extremely consistent and dominant this season.”

What has to be scary to opponents is that Hidalgo only is getting started. She likely will hold many Irish records by the time she’s done with the program. Irish fans will be anxious to find out how many of those records she holds in the end.

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Bears WR Keenan Allen greets Caleb Williams at USC pro day

New Bears WR Keenan Allen was among a huge Chicago contingent at Caleb Williams’ pro day.

Wednesday is the day many have been waiting for: USC’s Pro Day, where quarterback Caleb Williams is set to workout in front of various NFL teams. Williams, the consensus top prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, has generated a ton of buzz and is the favorite to be selected No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bears.

Naturally, Chicago has a large contingent in attendance to watch Williams, as well as other USC prospects. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus are just two of the team members, but one of their newest players is also in attendance and made sure to say hi to his potential new quarterback.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen, whom the Bears acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers just last week, was spotted at USC’s Pro Day wearing Bears blue and orange by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Darren Haynes of CBS Los Angeles. He and Williams greeted each other with a hug prior to the workout.

 

Allen was acquired last Thursday from the Chargers in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick. The six-time pro bowler has been one of the best receivers over the last decade since he was drafted in 2013. He’s coming off a season where he had 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

When asked about Williams during his opening press conference, Allen only had great things to say. “Hell of an athlete,” he said. “Obviously, he can make tremendous plays with his feet and with his arm. It looks like he knows the game really well. Really good.”

The Bears still haven’t made their intentions fully known with the No. 1 overall pick, but considering the trade of Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the large contingent in attendance for Williams’ Pro Day, and the fact Allen himself is there to see him, it feels like only a matter of time until these two start connecting on the football field.

Bears locked in for a quarterback following trade of Justin Fields to Steelers

The Bears are free to select Caleb Williams No. 1 overall after trading Justin Fields to the Steelers.

In news that shook the league Sunday evening, the Pittsburgh Steelers landed quarterback Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft that could become a fourth.

The trade comes as little surprise after weeks of speculation that the Bears were in the market for a new quarterback with the No. 1 selection. While the presumed pick is Caleb Williams, any of three quarterbacks could go at the top of the draft.

There have been other scenarios pitched that have the Washington Commanders jumping up a spot for Williams, but either way, the trade of Fields locks Chicago in for a signal-caller with their top selection.

It’s a new day in Chicago, and with two selections in the top nine, there will be plenty of talent to go around for whichever quarterback starts under center in Week 1 of the 2024 season.

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New USC running back coach Anthony Jones Jr. knows how to beat Michigan

Anthony Jones’ TCU team rushed for 263 yards in a 51-point explosion versus Michigan in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl.

As you likely know by now, the USC Trojans hired TCU Horned Frog running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr. to the same position. Jones worked with TCU for the last two seasons. One obvious point on the resume which stands out about Jones: He was part of a coaching staff which defeated Jim Harbaugh and Michigan in a College Football Playoff semifinal. With USC moving to the Big Ten, being able to beat Michigan is a real plus for any coach Lincoln Riley brings aboard.

Jones’ 2023 team at TCU was ranked No. 11 in the nation in total offense (466.7), led by Emani Bailey, who was No. 20 in the nation in rushing yards (1,209) and No. 14 in rushing yards per game (100.8).

In 2022, Jones worked side-by-side with former TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and helped to coach the Horned Frogs to the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The Frogs scored 51 points on Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl, with lead running back Emari Demercado rushing for 150 yards on just 17 carries. TCU ran for 263 yards against Michigan’s defense. You think that won’t get USC fans excited when they face Michigan in September of 2024?

Prior to his two-year stint at TCU, Jones was the running backs coach at Memphis, where he worked for four seasons and developed NFL running backs such as Kenneth Gainwell, Antonio Gibson, Darrell Henderson Jr. and Tony Pollard.

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Women’s basketball national scoring leaders as of March 3 (and steals)

History was made again this past weekend.

Caitlin Clark has reached the scoring mountaintop in college basketball. She passed Pete Maravich’s college scoring total and now is the all-time leader for either men or women. Here’s how far she ranks ahead of the other top 10 scorers in women’s basketball as well as their steals numbers in comparison to national leader [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]:

Social media reaction to Johnny Manziel’s boycott of future Heisman Trophy ceremonies, standing with USC’s Reggie Bush

Johnny Manziel defended Reggie Bush and made a major Heisman statement. Everyone is talking about it.

Johnny Manziel stands in solidarity with Reggie Bush. Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy recipient, published a recent post on X which puts into action his recent opinions. Those opinions were expressed in interviews about USC’s Reggie Bush not having his Heisman Trophy returned:

“After careful thought and consideration I will be humbly removing myself from the Heisman trophy ceremony until @ReggieBush gets his trophy back. Doesn’t sit right with my morals and values that he can’t be on that stage with us every year. Reggie IS the Heisman trophy. Do the RIGHT thing  @NCAA the ball is in your court.

Much love JM2″

The social media reaction to this tweet has been extensive and as expected, very polarized.  Here is how social media reacted to the news: