The USC football team had an elite offense this season, but the Trojans are losing some important talent after this year. 2022 Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams will not be back at USC next season, and the Trojans also learned that one of his top receivers will be entering the transfer portal.

Caleb Williams transferred over to USC football from Oklahoma football when Lincoln Riley took over as the head coach of the Trojans. Those two weren't the only stars that came from Norman, however. Wide receiver Mario Williams also made the move from the Sooners to USC, but he is now going back into the transfer portal, according to a tweet from Adam Rittenberg. This is a tough loss for Riley and the Trojans as Williams has had three solid years playing college football.

As a true freshman at Oklahoma, Mario Williams hauled in 35 receptions for 380 yards and four touchdowns. That was his only season with the Sooners. In his first season at USC, Williams took a nice leap and grabbed 40 receptions for 631 yards and five touchdowns. He did take a bit of step back this season, however, as he caught 29 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

This is a tough blow for USC, but the offense should still be fine next year. It was one of the best units in college football this season, and even while losing both Caleb Williams and Mario Williams, there will still be a ton of talent on that side of the ball. The Trojans are exploring QB options in the portal, and they also have the #1 overall recruit in the 2023 class as their current backup QB. USC is also loaded at the WR position, and freshman standout Zachariah Branch will lead that unit next year. The offense will be just fine.

USC only needs to be concerned about the defense this offseason. The Trojans have already picked up some commits that should help that out, and they also got a new defensive coordinator as D'Anton Lynn came over from UCLA. Losing Williams is tough, but this has been a good start to the offseason for this team.

The offseason hasn't actually started yet for USC, however. The Trojans still have their Holiday Bowl matchup with Louisville looming on December 27th. The Trojans will not have Caleb Williams in that game, and after today's news, it's unlikely that they have Mario as well. The 15th ranked Cardinals are favored by 7.5 in that one.