Will Caleb Williams declare for the draft? Analyzing USC QB's NFL future
Caleb Williams is having another Heisman-worthy season. He is the main reason for USC's 6-0 record into Week 7. The Trojans have had several close calls, like last week's 43-41 victory in overtime against Arizona, but Williams' production and that of the entire offensive unit has allowed them to remain undefeated.
Caleb Williams has recorded 1,822 passing yards, with 22 touchdown passes and only one interception so far. He has also managed to score six rushing touchdowns. In every game of the season, the Trojans have managed to score 40 points or more. His QBR of 86.2 is eighth among all signal-callers at the college level.
Williams is the favorite to be the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. While there had been many reports regarding the subject, including one that had his father declaring Williams would declare, the player last spoke about it in late August. He told ESPN:
"That's for sure now going to be an in-the-moment decision at the end of the year, it's my third year, and the dream and goal was to go three-and-out. Being around these guys and in college and enjoying it, we'll have to see at the end of this year."
There would be very few reasons for Williams to come back for his senior year, with the young quarterback putting together back-to-back stellar seasons. He also had a great freshman season while he was at Oklahoma, in which he helped them win the Alamo Bowl. There's only one reason why he would do it, which is the possibility of winning a national title with USC. There's still the chance that he would achieve said objective, but that looks unlikely given their issues at defense.
Williams hasn't managed to win any title or bowl game with the Trojans.
Caleb Williams' Heisman season
In 2022 Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy rather comfortably, as he got 2031 votes to the 1,420 votes recorded by TCU's Max Duggan. Williams recorded 4,537 passing yards with 42 touchdown passes and five interceptions. He also won the Maxwell and Walter Camp Awards, was named the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Year, and received unanimous All-American and First Team All-Pac-12 honors.
The season brought signature wins against rival schools No. 16 UCLA and No. 15 Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks. Caleb Williams and the Trojans weren't able to capitalize on their form and lost the Pac-12 title game versus Utah and the Cotton Bowl against Tulane.