USC quarterback Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, earning college football’s most treasured individual honor in his first year with the Trojans.
The 20-year-old sophomore led the Trojans to an 11-2 record in his first season in Los Angeles after transferring from the University of Oklahoma. He threw for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Williams beat out the other three finalists — Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, TCU’s Max Duggan and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett — in what was the first all-quarterback group of Heisman finalists since 2018. Duggan finished second in the voting, receiving 1,420 points to Williams’ 2,031. Stroud finished third (539 points) and Bennett fourth (349 points). It marks the 11th time in the last 13 years that a quarterback has won the award.
In his acceptance speech, Williams hailed the three other finalists and credited his parents, teammates and coaches for him being able to win the award.
“If you are willing to put in the work and surround yourself with positive people, you can achieve anything,” Williams said. “I used to write down my goals in a journal and what used to just be words on a piece of paper, has me standing here today. So everyone, dreams really do come true. Thank you. Fight on!”
Williams is the seventh Trojan to win the award and the first since quarterback Matt Leinart in 2004.
Former Trojan running back Reggie Bush won the award in 2005 but was stripped of it after an NCAA investigation found Bush received impermissible benefits, including several thousand dollars and a vehicle while in school.
Last year, after the NCAA approved a new policy for student athletes to make money on their names, images and likeness, they said Bush will not get the trophy back.
Williams’ Heisman award caps off a season in which USC ended up just short of the College Football Playoff.
Williams suffered a hamstring injury in the Trojans’ loss to the University of Utah in the Pac-12 championship game last week. It’s unclear whether he’ll play in the team’s January 2 game against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.