USC’s Caleb Williams practicing more patience in the pocket
LA TimesQuarterback Caleb Williams has worked during spring practice to scramble less quickly and wait for a pass play to develop. It was that superlative rushing ability that first set Williams on a path toward stardom last season, as he followed in the footsteps of other dual-threat quarterbacks who came before him in Riley’s offense, such as Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts. Having a guy on him is one thing, but sometimes getting him to the ground is a little tougher.” Removing sacks from the equation, no college quarterback ran for more yards per attempt last season than Williams. “When you’ve got a guy that can scramble the way he does and can take off and run and move the chains with his legs when things break down, or sometimes everybody’s kind of covered and you don’t like the read and it creates a little space there and you take off running the ball, it’s such a hard thing for the defense,” USC offensive coordinator Josh Henson said. Looking back on his freshman season, Williams said he realized there were moments “where I was too quick to scramble.” “I started to practice that last year especially, sitting in the pocket a little bit more, trusting the guys that are protecting me because that’s their job and I believe in them, I trust them,” Williams said.