Former Oklahoma Sooners QB Caleb Williams transferring to USC

Star quarterback Caleb Williams is transferring to USC, he told ESPN.

The move reunites Williams with first-year USC head coach Lincoln Riley, who Williams played for during his breakthrough true freshman year at Oklahoma in 2021.

“I wanted to go somewhere I thought would provide me with the best development both on and off the field,” Williams told ESPN. He added: “Getting to know Coach Riley and gaining familiarity with his offense definitely played a part in my selection, as well as already knowing some the guys on the team.”

Williams’ decision marks the end of the biggest off-season mystery in college football, as Williams spent nearly one month in the NCAA transfer portal. Williams chose the Trojans over UCLA, Georgia, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

Williams signed all his paperwork to attend USC late last week, a source told ESPN. He registered for classes with his academic advisor late on Friday, ahead of the school’s final deadline to do so. He’s expected to attend his first class at USC in person on Tuesday and be cleared to join team workouts in the upcoming days.

“I want to get to work right away, earn the trust of my teammates, win championships and help bring USC back to being a top-rated program,” Williams said.

The move marks the end of one of the most celebrated and potentially transformative transfers in modern college football, and a decision that could loom large over both the Pac-12 and the landscape of the sport.

It’s a giant coup for Riley, who has now added 13 transfers from the portal since arriving at USC in November. None is as important as Williams, who will provide a building block, star power and help deliver USC an immediate on-field identity.

Williams’ transfer comes at a time in the sport where both the NCAA’s new one-time transfer rule and the ability for players to make money off their Name, Image and Likeness have intersected for the first time. But Williams said NIL “didn’t have any impact on my…