LOS ANGELES — After everything they'd weathered during one year together, all Caleb Williams needed now from his coach was a look from the sideline. A shoulder shrug. A head nod. A thumbs-up. That, the USC quarterback says, would be signal enough for him to know exactly what Lincoln Riley was thinking.
By that point, the USC coach could usually tell what was coming from his quarterback, too.
"The way he walks out on the field, I can almost tell you the kind of day he's going to have," Riley said. "I've seen now so much, every mannerism and every word. I've got to a place where he can tell and I can kinda know what's in his head even before. And I think he, in a lot of ways, [feels] the same thing with me. I think a lot of times I'm getting ready to make a point to him, whether it's about playing the position or leading or anything and he can kinda take the words right from me. We're in lockstep."