Caleb Williams and Carson Palmer Share Similar Heisman Paths

In the middle of the season like Caleb Williams candidacy for the Heisman Trophy continued to simmer on the burner for hotter names, USC the football program remained quiet—at least in public.

It was around that time Lincoln Riley and USC Director of Football Communications Kathy Ryan had their first talk about what an ideal schedule would look like to push their all-star quarterback. They agreed that when it comes to this particular award, the best option is to strategically wait for the right moment to strike.

But Ryan continued to work, scheduling weekly “Heisman meetings” with about seven other USC employees, all with focused attention. to the UCLA gamethe first of two nationally televised high-stakes bouts.

“We’ve been saying that if Caleb’s game in Los Angeles goes according to our plan and Caleb plays well, that would be our window of opportunity,” Ryan said this week as she prepared to land in New York with Williams, who is expected to win. the school’s record eighth Heisman on Saturday. “Everything fell into place.”

2022 marked Ryan’s first season as lead director of sports information for the Trojans as he succeeded Tim Tessalone, who retired after over 40 years with the department.

This fall, Tessalone watched from the sidelines as Williams took the country by storm in the last two weeks of the regular season. He came up with an easy comparison to a similar scenario 20 years ago when he was heading the last promotion. Carson Palmer.

Now, of course, there were a few differences. First, in 2002 there were no social networks that could effectively spread the message throughout the country. Second, while Williams entered this season among the favorites as a highly publicized transfer from Oklahoma, Palmer arrived in his senior season in his fifth year as something of an afterthought.

In his first four years, Palmer missed his prep bill by throwing as many touchdowns as he did interceptions (39). USC scored 25-24 points during this period, and a year earlier changed Paul Hackett to Pete Carroll.

USC quarterback Carson Palmer speaks after winning the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 20.  14, 2002.

USC quarterback Carson Palmer speaks after winning the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 20. 14, 2002.

(Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

“He was not among the first Heisman candidates,” Tessalone said. “In fact, he was not on the cover of our media guide. Troy Polamalu was, and Carson was on the back cover. If you’re going to push someone towards Heisman, you probably don’t want to. But Carson got off to a great start, and in the middle of the year we all sort of looked at each other and said, “Should we push him to Heisman?” “

Like Ryan two decades later, Tessalone got to work. He was the only one producing creative mailing lists that Heisman voters and sports curators could hold in their hands.

They made a big ticket that said “Ticket to the Carson Show,” a clever nod to “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

“It looked like one of those oversized tickets you would use to get into a TV show or movie premiere,” Tessalone said.

Shortly thereafter, in mid-November, Times sportswriter Bill Plaschke wrote a column suggesting that Palmer was the latest West Coast star affected by East Coast bias in Heisman’s voting. It was hard to disagree with Plaschke, since Marcus Allen had been the last winner from this path, 21 years earlier, in 1981.

“The Heisman Trophy has become the most biased and unfair award in sports,” Plaschke wrote.

Palmer told reporters that week, fueling Plaschke’s frustration: “My chance of winning the Heisman trophy is so slim I don’t even think about it. It’s very, very rare that I get the chance. It’s just the way it works.”

Tessalone immediately emailed — he says he only learned how then — a Plaschke op-ed to national football reporters and voices with the subject line: “Hmmmm…”. candidate along with Brad Banks of Iowa and Ken Dorsey of Miami.

Tessalone recalls USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow assuring him, “I know how to do it.” Of course, Chow showed Palmer the dominance of #52-21. 25 UCLA for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Breakout next week #44-13 with a score of 44-13. 7 Notre Dame, Palmer had 425 yards and four touchdowns.

– Sounds familiar, right? Tessalone said, referring to Williams. “Big performances with cult plays at the end of the season. Both Carson and Caleb, along with their teammates and coaches, apparently changed the state of USC drastically almost overnight.”

Palmer took the Trojans from 6-6 to 10-2 in Carroll’s second season, setting the stage for the AP National Championship the following year. Williams led USC 4-8 to 11-2. The seven-win improvement coincided with the biggest single-season turnaround in school history.

But Williams also received some help from Eastern forces. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, the early-year favorite who remained at the top all season, battled Michigan in a shocking defeat at home. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, the heavy favorite after beating Alabama, didn’t suffer a crushing loss at No. 1 Georgia and tore his ACL in the ugly South Carolina loss. Michigan running back Blake Corum injured his knee against Illinois and barely played against Ohio State the following week.

Williams’ double hit tore apart the Bruins and the Fighting Irish, seemingly winning the award ahead of championship weekend.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams (left) celebrates USC's victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl on November 11.  19

USC quarterback Caleb Williams (left) celebrates USC’s victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl on November 11. 19

(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

His candidacy also seemed fresh, and this is no coincidence. The first USC promotional videos for Williams on social media came after the UCLA win, and Ryan created a feature with Fox that put Williams in the same room with past winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush to talk business and let the young a person to show his personality. .

“Like Coach Riley, I definitely think you can oversaturate the market if you step in too early or proactively rush your campaign,” Ryan said. “The timing has to be perfect – and I think we hit the mark.

“[But] after all, if Caleb wins the Heisman, it will be because of his performance on the field and because he is the most outstanding American footballer.”

However, Tessalone, too, was very impressed with USC’s promotional efforts around Williams, especially his foresight to show a little restraint in a world that rarely rewards it.

“As we saw with Carson, you can’t win a Heisman in September or October,” Tessalone said. “You will win it at the end of November.”