USC Trojans Caleb Williams is Awarded the 2022 Heisman Trophy

2022 Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams from the University of Southern California. Photo by ToddVan Emst.

NEW YORK— Caleb Williams, quarterback for the University of Southern California, was named the winner of the 88th Heisman Memorial Trophy on Saturday (December 10), live at the Lincoln Center in New York City. He is the seventh official recipient of the Heisman Trophy, the most coveted award given out in college football.

Williams is the latest member of an illustrious group of former Trojan greats to receive this award, including Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004), and Reggie Bush (2005, later vacated).

Williams received 544 votes for first place, which is the 10th most all-time, and 2,031 total points in the competition. He was able to overtake Texas Christian's quarterback Max Duggan, who had 1,420 points, Ohio State's quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had 539 points, and Georgia's quarterback Stetson Bennett, who had 539 points (349 points).

Williams played a significant role in the successful turnaround of a program that finished the 2021 season with a record of 4-8 and finished the 2022 season with a record of 11-2.

The seven-victory improvement from the previous season ties the record for the greatest one-season turnaround in USC's annals. The other seven-game improvement was accomplished by the 1962 National Champion Trojans, who went from winning only four games during the 1961 season to winning eleven games during the 1962 season.

2022 Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams from the University of Southern California. Photo by Marvin Chambers.

Through 13 games, Williams has wowed the nation with his deft maneuvers, powerful arm, and thrilling runs. He has also enthralled the nation with his deceptive moves. He has 47 touchdown passes but only four interceptions. He has completed 296 of 448 passes for a.661 percent and 4,075 yards. Williams has also scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, racking up 372 yards on 109 carries.

In 13 games, he has been responsible for 47 total touchdowns, including both throwing and rushing scores. The previous record for the school was 41, which had been held by Matt Barkley (2011) and Cody Kessler (2014).

Williams has now accumulated 4,447 total offensive yards in 2022, which places him in first place on USC's all-time single-season list (Sam Darnold previously held the record with 4,225 total yards in 2017). Additionally, his 372 rushing yards this season are the most by a USC quarterback in the past seven decades, during which time complete records have been kept.

Jim Sears in 1952 set the previous record with 342, which still stands today. Williams is now first in the nation in passing touchdowns and leads USC with ten rushing touchdowns on the season (37). In addition to this, he leads the league in both the number of points he is responsible for scoring per game (21.7) and the overall number of points scored (282).

How Sweet It Is for the 2022 Heisman Trophy Winner Caleb Williams from the University of Southern Califronia. Photo by Marvin Chambers.

Williams is ranked third in the country in passing yards (4,075) and sixth in passing efficiency (1679), passing yards per game (313.5), and total offense. Williams also ranks third in the nation in rushing yards (1,035). (342.1). Williams is ranked seventh in the country in terms of yards gained per throw attempt (9.10).

USC's offense is currently ranked third in the country and first in the Pac-12 in terms of passing efficiency as a team (168.69). Additionally, USC leads the Pac-12 in passing yards per completion, which is an offensive statistic (13.75).

USC is ranked fourth in the US in terms of the percentage of third downs that are converted (.516), fourth in scoring, and first in the Pac-12 in terms of scoring offense (41.1). USC also ranks fifth in terms of overall offense (499.8) and fifth in terms of passing offense (325.7).

Williams has 296 completions, which places him at position No. 7 on the list of Single Season Passing Leaders for USC. He is now in second place on the all-time single-season passing leaderboard for USC.

Former USC quarterback Cody Kessler presently holds the record for the lowest rate of interceptions in a season with 1.1% of all passes thrown being picked off by opposing teams (5 in 452 attempts in 2014). Williams is currently at 0.9%, which puts him in a position to surpass that record in the near future (4 in 407 attempts).

Williams was honored with multiple awards, including the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, and the CBS Sports Player of the Year Award. He was also selected the player of the year by the Associated Press and Walter Camp.

In addition to being chosen for placement on five different All-American First Teams, he was a finalist for both the Manning Award and the Davey O'Brien Award (Walter Camp, FWAA, PFF, The Athletic, CBS Sports).

Williams was selected for the PFF First Team All-American, was honored as the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and received a spot on the Allstate Good Works Team in recognition of his contributions to charitable causes. Click on the game photos tab below to see the Best of Caleb Williams Heisman performances.