USC Trojans star quarterback Caleb Williams would almost certainly be the first player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft if he decided to leave school and enter the draft pool, but it doesn’t sound like he’s made that decision just yet – and he might not make that announcement for quite some time.
Caleb Williams recently told Ryan Kartje of the L.A. Times that it will be “a game-time decision” whether not he chooses to enter the NFL Draft by the Jan. 15 deadline.
Part of that may be due to the disappointing season he has had with the USC Trojans. Despite national title and Heisman Trophy hopes to start the year, USC was effectively eliminated from title contention over a month ago and Williams isn’t expected to even receive an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony this year.
“I’ve never been in this situation, where I’m 7-5 and there are no playoff hopes at the end of the season,” Williams said. “I’m dealing with it emotionally, dealing with it spiritually and physically. It’s been one of the most important years I think I’ve had. It’s tricky. I’ve had to have talks with Lincoln [Riley, USC’s coach] — because obviously I haven’t been through it — or with my family members or people like that, just how to deal with this and lead, how to stay the same person I was before the season or after our first loss or second loss. So it was different. It was a learning process.”
Conventional wisdom suggests that Williams will enter the draft, but there’s a chance he could return to try to accomplish his goal – especially considering that players can profit from their name, image, and likeness these days.
We’ll have to see what happens.
[LA Times]
