Why Lincoln Riley will soon restore USC football's status as 'Quarterback University'

Lincoln Riley stole ESPN's 'QBU' crown two years ago at Oklahoma. In 2020, OU football took the title from USC football, which had previously held it. What changed? Well, Riley established himself as the best QB guru in the country--having developed back-to-back Heisman winners.

In fact, both of them were drafted No. 1 overall, and one of them--Kyler Murray--has been good in the league. He's now made back-to-back Pro Bowls despite only having played for three years in the NFL so far. It was safe to say that nobody was touching Oklahoma's current progress as a QB factory.

Then, Riley doubled down on his strong QB expertise with leading Jalen Hurts to an elite season in 2019. Two years later, Caleb Williams showed up halfway through the year and BALLED. Riley always finds a way to remind the college football world of just how amazing he is at developing QB talent. But, that's also why USC will be returning to Quarterback University very quickly.

Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams are now with USC football.

Lincoln Riley is the reason USC football lost out on Quarterback University to Oklahoma, as it wasn't until after Riley developed Baker Mayfield and Murray that OU was awarded the title. Now with Riley over here, his prowess as a QB coach is going to shine through. Heck, his last successful QB project is at USC too now.

Oklahoma gained a good QB in Dillon Gabriel, but he's obviously not Williams--who averaged 9.1 yards per pass attempt AND 5.6 yards per rush attempt last season. Their QB play will likely remain strong, but nothing beats the man who's considered to be the best offensive coach in America who has his choice at QB at SC.

Heck, there were NFL teams wanting him to be their head coach when he was just 36 years old. That's how respected he is around the game, and for good reason. And him being paired with Williams, who was set to win a third Heisman for Riley to add to his development resume at a time last year despite not even being the starting QB for OU until the second half of the season.

Williams is going to be FILTHY now that he gets a full season, and a full season with Riley by his side. Here's what David M. Hale had to say about the current and future status of QBU in the article:

"Oklahoma remains QBU for the third straight year, but the Sooners are now treading into uncharted waters. Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams have both transferred, and Lincoln Riley -- the QB whisperer who helped build Oklahoma into QBU -- is off to USC (which, it should be noted, is a close second on this list). Will Dillon Gabriel add to Oklahoma's long tradition of elite QBs? Can Brent Venables keep recruiting future stars? Or will Riley not only stun the Sooners' fan base by leaving but also by stealing their crown as the top producer of quarterback talent?"

- David M. Hale, ESPN

It's most certainly plausible that Riley will draw SC back to being that top QB school in the country. Riley now gets his pick of the litter when it comes to QB recruits, too, now that he's living in what's considered to be the No. 1 QB hotbed in the country.

He already recruited nationally at Oklahoma (see Spencer Rattler, Williams). Now that he's located out here on the west, he can be as selective as he wants with quarterback recruiting, and easily snag his best option more often than not.