Should Caleb Williams Sit The Remainder Of The 2023 Season?
Has USC failed Caleb Williams? The decision to keep defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was always going to cost USC a real shot at being legit National Championship contenders, and that has shown over the last two weeks.
After back-to-back brutal losses to Notre Dame and home to Utah, USC now finds themselves on the outside looking in, with no real shot at the College Football Playoff. This begs the question: Should Williams go ahead and announce he isn’t going to play again for USC and prepare himself for the 2024 NFL Draft?
I don’t think it is as crazy as it sounds. Williams is probably the best QB prospect of my generation, better than Lawrence and Burrow and up there with Luck. NFL teams should be salivating a the chance to bring Williams into their organization, as he is destined for great things at the next level.
But with these losses starting to pile up, what is his motivation to stick around? I don’t even think USC gets a New Year’s Six bowl game this year, so there really is no point. Williams runs the risk of injury in a season that is completely lost.
I get the other side of the argument, however. How would it look not only to his teammates and the USC fans and alumni if he decided to take his ball and go home? That could potentially damage his reputation. Not only that, he is raking in money from all his sponsorships, what would they think about their star signing not playing another down for the Trojans again?
All that money was spent this season to bring Caleb Williams on just to have him play eight games and walk out. He would have to weigh his options as he is under the scrutiny of the public eye.
Caleb Williams has already floated the idea out there that he might stay at USC depending on who is picked first in the 2024 NFL Draft, but I think at this point it shouldn’t matter. I would declare myself for the draft Monday morning and announce that I am sitting out the rest of the year in preparation for the draft.
Williams has nothing left to play for this year, so I would strike while the iron is hot and jump into the NFL, no matter who picks first. As a USC fan, it would sting for a bit, but I am adult enough to understand the business decision that was made and appreciate all that Williams did for USC during his time.
