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USC quarterback Caleb Williams made his debut in a 56-28 win over San Jose State Saturday. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and presumptive No. 1 overall selection played 52 offensive snaps before turning it over to backup Miller Moss in the fourth quarter.

Williams completed 18-of-26 pass attempts for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns. Two of those incompletions were clear drops by his receivers looking to make a play before securing the football. The one-time Oklahoma transfer also sailed one pass in the end zone but was otherwise accurate. 

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TruMedia

The comparisons to Patrick Mahomes are evident but hyperbolic until he proves it against a similar level of competition. Both have mobility though primarily only use their legs to extend the play for another opportunity to throw the football. Like Mahomes, Williams is capable of throwing from different arm slots. 

The quarterback has a rugby-style of play at times where he will gain ground that the defense allows before tossing it backward or forward to a teammate based on where he is in relation to the line of scrimmage, which is not always necessary. On one particular play, Williams was scrambling right and rather than just going out of bounds, he pitched it to a teammate that lost two of the yards gained on the play. 

One play where Williams fumbled the snap but found a streaking Tahj Washington for a touchdown went viral on social media. The junior was able to locate his target downfield quickly and threw the pass 48 yards through the air with pressure bearing down on him.

Williams' first touchdown of the season looks rather pedestrian, but knowing there were two high safeties, the middle of the field should be open as long as the linebacker does not drop. Notice Williams' eyes on the play as he snaps his hips toward the slot curl, which draws the linebacker up and opens the post behind him for a walk in touchdown.

Since arriving at the collegiate level, Williams has taken 98.1% of snaps out of shotgun formation, according to TruMedia. The NFL average for snaps out of the shotgun is 67.2%. Head coach Lincoln Riley has a wealth of offensive skill talent at his disposal so he wants to spread out the field and allow his quarterback to make plays. 

Williams is a special talent who is projected to be taken early in the 2024 NFL Draft for valid reasons. He is not perfect, however. At times, the Washington D.C. native tries to do too much. On one play, he was running out of room on the sideline and tossed the ball downfield. It was so close to being inbounds that the defender tried to knock it back in to his teammate. It was too close for comfort when he needed to just throw it away. There was another pass that was a 50-50 ball downfield. One would like to think that Williams trusted his receiver to either make that play or prevent the defender from making a play rather than it simply being a reckless decision.

Williams was blitzed 29.0% of the time, but sacked just once. He has a good feel for pressure in the pocket and is able to evade. He displayed an array of talents from his ability to manipulate defenses with his eyes, arm strength and impromptu play-making ability in the opener against the Spartans.

The Trojans host Nevada next weekend before opening conference play the following week against Stanford.