The football season is months away, but USC coach Lincoln Riley already has a big win in the Chicago area.
Lincoln-Way East quarterback Jonas Williams, the No. 88 player nationally in the junior class, has flipped his commitment from Oregon to USC.
Williams joins the consensus top-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, and he’s the only quarterback in the seven-player group.
“It’s a huge one for USC,” national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove said. “Oregon has won some battles against USC, (so) this is a big win for Lincoln Riley.”
Williams accounted for 3,326 total yards and 49 touchdowns in his first season at Lincoln-Way East after transferring from Bolingbrook, leading the Griffins to a 12-1 record and Class 8A semifinal berth.
Cosgrove believes he’s a good fit for the Trojans, who were 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten last fall. More importantly, Williams and Riley look like a perfect match for Riley, who’s known as a quarterback whisperer.
“They’ll be attached at the hip,” Cosgrove said.
“Jonas is … a laid-back, cool cucumber. I’m sure they sold him on the availability for early playing time. He’s got a chance to be the guy. … I think they made him a priority.”
Williams, who is 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, has been known for his passing. But that’s not all that makes him the No. 2 prospect in Illinois and the No. 8 quarterback nationally in his class.
“You don’t think of him as a dual-threat guy because he’s got so much arm talent and he can sit in the pocket,” Cosgrove said.
“He’s kind of built for that old-school Pac-10 offense, but he’s a Big Ten guy. … I think he’s sold on being the future of USC football.”
Sandburg picks Murphy
Sheamus Murphy has come full circle.
The Sandburg alum is the new head coach at his alma mater after being promoted to replace Troy McAllister, who left after four seasons for the same job at Homewood-Flossmoor.
Murphy spent last season as assistant tight ends coach at Sandburg after successful head-coaching stints at Back of the Yards and Eisenhower.
He started the Back of the Yards program and went 28-10 with two conference titles and two IHSA playoff berths in four seasons. Murphy oversaw the best five-season run in Eisenhower history, going 26-21 and reaching the postseason in all four non-COVID seasons.
Sandburg went to the playoffs three times during McAllister’s four seasons, and Murphy likes the program’s potential.
“The ceiling is competing at the highest levels in [Class] 8A,” Murphy said. “That’s the ceiling if we get everything aligned. … It starts with the staff and getting really good people to help our athletes reach their full potential.”
Southwest Valley changes
After operating with three five-team divisions in its debut season last fall, the football-only Southwest Valley is going to a two-division format in 2025. The divisions are based on enrollment, with the eight biggest schools in the Blue and the seven smallest in the Red.
The Blue will be made up of Homewood-Flossmoor, Lincoln-Way East, Lockport, Metea Valley, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Sandburg.
The Red will include Andrew, Bradley-Bourbonnais, DeKalb, Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way West, Stagg and Waubonsie Valley.