Pettiness rarely leaves sports, and Caleb Williams almost became the face of UCLA football because of it. Following Lincoln Riley's departure from Oklahoma, he headed for USC. At that time, Riley was Williams's head coach with the Sooners. As soon as he moved West, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick also wanted to move, but for a different reason.

“When all of that went down I was more angry at him (Lincoln Riley),” Williams said via the St. Brown Podcast. “At first, I was going to go to UCLA just to play against him. I’m super petty. I went on a whole UCLA visit, I went on a couple of other visits too. UCLA, LSU, things like that.

“But it came down to USC and UCLA just because I wanted to beat him because he left. Then we sat down and talked, had a couple of FaceTime talks, and then from there I was like ‘it’s alright, I’m going to forgive you and we can make this work and make s**t happen.'”

After forgiving Riley, Williams went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2022 with USC. He also won the PAC-12 Player of the Year, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award that season. His first year at USC they finished 11-3.

Caleb Williams almost chose UCLA football to spite Lincoln Riley

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If Williams would've chosen UCLA football, he would've played under Chip Kelly. The latter was an offensive mastermind and still is. However, his tenure with the Bruins ended abruptly. Now, he's the offensive coordinator with Ohio State and has helped them reach the College Football National Championship game.

Still, Williams's tenure with Riley was an impressive one, to say the least. The West Coast offense adapted nicely to Williams's game. After all, he did start in place of Spencer Rattler as a freshman. That success translated over in that 11-win season for the Trojans.

They were unable to secure a CFP bid but played in the Cotton Bowl. However, they lost to Tulane, which sparked a struggling 7-5 season in 2023. Still, his talent was too much to deny, and the Chicago Bears picked him with the first overall pick. If Williams had picked UCLA football, this might be a different story.

He might not win the Heisman, or achieve national prominence. While he's an extremely talented quarterback in his right, that's why it's hypothetical. No matter what, the current Bears quarterback made the right decision for his future.