USC quarterback Caleb Williams was the runaway winner of the 2022 Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding player in college football.
Caleb Williams was the Heisman Trophy favorite going into Saturday’s ceremony. He came away the Heisman Trophy winner.
Williams received 544 first-place votes over 188 for TCU’s Max Duggan, who placed second. C.J. Stroud of Ohio State came in third and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett IV was, fittingly, fourth.
It may have been a foregone conclusion, but Williams’ Heisman win had the college football media talking.
Best memes and tweets after Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy
Your 2022 @HeismanTrophy winner... @CALEBcsw! ✌️🏆
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 11, 2022
📺 @ESPN pic.twitter.com/JsPPkWG9zJ
Caleb Williams wins the 2022 @HeismanTrophy!!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/j8PF18F4W2
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) December 11, 2022
𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬... Heisman.
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) December 11, 2022
𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬... Caleb Williams.
Congrats, @CALEBcsw. ✌️🏆 pic.twitter.com/CgKQ9SHUd1
What a historic first year at #USC for Caleb Williams:
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) December 11, 2022
•The first black starting QB for #USC in more than 30 years
• First Heisman winner at USC in 17 years
• USC records for total TDs (47), total offensive yards (4,447) pic.twitter.com/ajQ8KKB5kC
Caleb Williams getting emotional talking about Lincoln Riley.
— Ryan Abraham (@insidetroy) December 11, 2022
Riley has now coached 3 Heisman Trophy winners and he's not even 40 years old.
Congrats to Caleb Williams.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) December 11, 2022
If you want to win a Heisman, play quarterback for @LincolnRiley
USC quarterback Caleb Williams to the other three finalists: "I may be standing up here today, but y'all get to go to the College Football Playoffs. Guess you can't win 'em all"
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) December 11, 2022
Caleb Williams is the 4th transfer to win the @HeismanTrophy in the last 6 years.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) December 11, 2022
Cover athlete worthy 😤
— ESPN (@espn) December 11, 2022
Caleb Williams put up video game numbers on his way to a Heisman Trophy! 🎮 pic.twitter.com/sGjnbDxifh
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 11, 2022
Wow Caleb Williams of USC is an impressive young man. Congrats to the Heisman winner!
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 11, 2022
Williams became the eighth Heisman Trophy winner in USC history, breaking the tie with Notre Dame and Ohio State for the most ever.
He achieved his victory with Patrick Mahomes-esque playmaking throughout the season for the Trojans. His performances against UCLA and Notre Dame set him apart from the other candidates while his gutsy effort playing through injury in a loss to Utah gave voters even more reason to put him at the top of their ballots.
The sophomore will have the chance to repeat since he will return in 2023 to try to check even more boxes on his list of goals. He gave a nod to the other finalists who will be playing in the College Football Playoff later this year. That’s where Williams intends to be next year.
Duggan was Williams’ biggest threat to win the award in the end. His wild season with TCU was certainly deserving of being in the conversation. Like Williams, Duggan’s never-say-die approach to the game helped drive his team to a major turnaround in 2022.
This was Stroud’s second year as a Heisman finalist and second year coming away disappointed. He could return in 2023 to see if the third time is the charm but he is expected to declare for the NFL Draft instead.
Bennett is also set to move on from college football but first he’ll have the chance to repeat as a national champion with Georgia.
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