How Stetson Bennett, Max Duggan, C.J. Stroud and Caleb Williams made the most of their different opportunities to contend for college football’s biggest award
who will be there Saturday night for the awarding of the most prestigious individual honor in sports arrived via four distinctly different routes.
By eighth grade, Williams was making the rounds on the national quarterback camp circuit. For four straight years, he attended the QB Collective, which was staffed by coaches and players with professional experience and designed to build NFL skills. With Williams, it was love at first sight. Rattler knew what was coming and transferred to South Carolina. But then Riley threw Williams a curve, stunningly making his own relocation to USC. With The Plan hitched to Riley, Williams followed—and a flotilla of skill-position talent from all over the map joined him. Neither the coach nor quarterback will ever be forgiven in Oklahoma, but they have become instant heroes in Southern California.
Williams is the most likely of the four finalists to hear his name called Saturday as the Heisman winner. But the lopsided loss in that game may have loosened his lock on the award, and there are some who are turned off by his series of what could be termed “F-U” manicures directed at opponents. But if that’s enough to change your vote, it’s clearly proof the Heisman has devolved into more of a statesmanship award than honoring the best college player in the country.
“Knowing how Max can step into a huddle and command the respect of a team, it blew my mind,” says Justin Kammrad, who was Duggan’s offensive coordinator at Lewis Central High School and is now the head coach. “How can you go in a different direction? I was shocked; I was surprised, but I knew Max would handle it. He’s a coach’s kid.”
Dykes brought his offensive coordinator with him—Garrett Riley, Lincoln’s little brother. They opened the quarterback competition in spring practice and arrived at no decision on who would start. Heading into that opener at Colorado, Dykes remained noncommittal on a starter and said the Frogs would play as many as three QBs in the game, with freshman Sam Jackson joining Morris and Duggan in the rotation.
“His growth at TCU has been amazing, but a lot of the things we are seeing today, we’ve seen for a long time here,” Kammrad says. “He would carry us. The respect from his teammates, the belief they have in him, that was the same here. Those guys are going to keep playing for him, because he was going to keep playing for them.
But Stroud exploded on the camp circuit and outplayed more celebrated QBs. Heavyweight coaches began to take note of his arm, release, accuracy and quick feet. And when he followed that up with a blazing start to his senior year, the big boys followed—here came Oregon and Michigan and Georgia. And Ohio State.
After not throwing a pass his redshirt year at Ohio State, Stroud won the battle to be the starter in 2021 and has been. His 186.56 efficiency rating that season was the highest ever for a freshman QB, and this year he’s tops in the nation in that department despite leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba being injured and a non-factor virtually all season.
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