In photos: Caleb Williams wishes USC coach Lincoln Riley a happy birthday: "ya’ll the old man is 40 now"
Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley are a great example of a perfect player and coach relationship. Riley recruited the Heisman Trophy winner as part of Oklahoma's 2021 class and gave Williams the opportunity to be Oklahoma's starting quarterback as a freshman.
It was not surprising when Riley left to take up the coaching role at USC that Williams hopped on the transfer portal to join him.
Williams expressed his fondness for Riley on his Instagram story on Tuesday as the USC coach turned a year older.
Williams started with a lighthearted tease, captioning his first story “Y'all the old man is 40 now,” and he added a laughing emoji. In his next story, he posted a picture of him and Riley in Oklahoma uniforms, an apparent throwback to where it started. Another picture of them in Oklahoma uniforms followed. He then ended it with a picture of them sitting casually captioned “thanks for whatcha done for me.”
Lincoln Riley's excellent career records and rapport with players
Lincoln Riley has a reputation for being personally invested in his players and their development. Riley was a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech. In his coaching career, he has been a mentor to three players who won the Heisman: Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams. NFL quarterback, Jalen Hurts was also his mentee.
Riley has also been a consistently winning coach since his first head coaching role at Oklahoma. He won the Big 12 conference championship for the first four years in charge of the Sooners. He also recorded 12 wins for three consecutive seasons at OU.
Lincoln Riley left his post at Oklahoma following the 2021 season with a 55-10 record over five seasons. He accepted the offer to become the head coach of the USC Trojans. His USC reign started with a hot six-game winning streak that was broken by the Utah Utes.
The Utes were again his nemesis as they handed him and the Trojans another defeat in the 2022 Pac-12 championship game. He has gotten off his campaign for this season with two wins in as many games against nonconference opponents.
Ultimately, Riley's goals this season will include a Pac-12 title and success in the College Football Playoff that has eluded him. Quarterback Caleb Williams will also be seeking to retain his Heisman Trophy win and be the only second player in history to do so.