Caleb Williams brushed off a Notre Dame fan who accosted him on the field after Saturday’s game.
The star quarterback threw three interceptions in USC’s 48-20 loss to the Fighting Irish. After the final whistle, a fan storming the Notre Dame Stadium field ran up to Williams and said, “Let me see those nails now, bro.”
Williams dismissed the heckler when speaking to reporters Wednesday.
“I mean, everybody wants to be in these two [size] 12.5 shoes right here,” Williams said. “I’m not worried about some kid running out on the field that doesn’t have anything really associated to Notre Dame other than possibly their family going there or him going there himself. Got a lot of guys over here that I’ve got to lead, so some opinion of a sheep, lions don’t worry about that stuff. Keep moving on, keep fighting. Fight on.”
Williams, whose mom is a nail stylist, routinely paints his fingernails as a way to express himself. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner did so with a profane message when painting “F*** ND” on his nails for last year’s game.
“Nobody else does it,” Williams said last week of athletes decorating their nails. “I like to do new things. I don’t really care what people have to say about it.”
Williams was averaging 303.7 passing yards per game with one pick all season before settling for a season-low 199 yards Saturday at South Bend. He called the uncharacteristic performance his “first bad game in college” and said he won’t get discouraged by the setback.
“You endure. You conquer. You keep going,” Williams said. “You don’t hang your head in the moment.”
Williams will look to rebound against No. 14 Utah in a monumental showdown this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Utes fans may recall the quarterback also painting “F*** Utah” on his nails for last season’s Pac-12 Championship Game.