LOS ANGELES — The word immortality was always special to Caleb Williams, a word that represented a legacy forever left, cementing that one’s name would circle through rooms they would never walk into.
The goal to cement that for himself at USC was a national championship, as Williams expressed before the start to last season. And such lofty expectations led to the most trying season of his career, with losing stretches and playoff hopes quickly dashed and a bevy of character attacks on the former Heisman winner.
On Thursday, though, the now-Chicago Bears quarterback Williams became immortal in a wholly different light, as USC announced on Twitter the school had retired his No. 13 jersey with a star-studded video fitting for a quarterback who helped restore glamour to college football in Southern California.
Congratulations poured in from singer John Legend, whose song “Ordinary People” Williams performed – shakily – as part of a rookie ritual with the Bears displayed on the show “Hard Knocks;” Snoop Dogg, who dubbed him “nephew” while surrounded by an appropriate cloud of smoke; head coach Lincoln Riley, the man who brought Williams from Norman, Oklahoma to USC; and even fellow Trojan women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins.
Several of his former teammates, too, assembled on Howard Jones Field for well wishes.
“Caleb, one-three, 13, we just wanted to say congratulations on getting your jersey retired,” said Trojans quarterback Miller Moss, flanked by teammates like Jaylin Smith and Zachariah Branch.
Williams led USC to the brink of the College Football Playoff in 2022, captivating the college football world in a Heisman Trophy campaign that included throwing for 4,537 yards and amassing 52 touchdowns. His junior season, before being drafted by the Bears, saw a slight step back in stats and team success, but he still ranked among the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation.
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Along the way, he became perhaps the face of the name, image and likeness movement in college athletics, building a remarkable portfolio of sponsorships and commercial appearances, and was frequently praised for his foundation Caleb Cares’ work with a local Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles.
USC revealed on Thursday, too, that Williams’ No. 13 banner under the peristyle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will set next to renewed Heisman winner Reggie Bush’s No. 5, the former superstar running back seeing another step toward vindication after a long legal battle with the NCAA.