Any major aspirations that the USC Trojans had with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams at quarterback are dead now. They were likely on life support at best after getting shellacked by Notre Dame last week. Following that up with the program and QB's third straight loss to Utah, however, certainly did the job thereafter, though.
USC will likely drop out of the AP Top 25 with no signature wins and losses in its two toughest games to date this season. It also seems unlikely that they'll be in contention to win the Pac-12 either with a loss to Utah already on the docket and with dates against Washington, Oregon and UCLA still remaining on the schedule.
And that brings us back to Caleb Williams.
The USC quarterback has proven for a season and a half that he's otherworldly talented, which is why he's projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Having said that, to make up for a poor defense, a subpar offensive line, and even lesser skill-position talent than last year, it's been clear that the QB has been trying to do too much, which Kunu warned about in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That has led to him, ultimately, regressing from his superhuman efforts of a year ago.
Now that USC's larger aspirations of a possible College Football Playoff berth and even a conference title appear shot, though, it raises another question: Should Caleb Williams protect his health and draft stock by skipping the rest of the 2023 season for the Trojans and start preparing for the draft?
Maybe it's the weight of a long Saturday weighing on me at a late hour, but it feels like that might be the best option.
Caleb Williams should skip rest of 2023 season with USC, prepare for NFL Draft
Make no mistake, such a decision would be relentlessly scrutinized. There are certain to be NFL coaches and front offices who would view foregoing the rest of the season as "quitting on his team". I fully get that.
At the same time, though, what does Williams truly have to gain by playing the remaining four games on USC's schedule? The argument could be made that, with the lackluster roster around him in contrast to the high level of competition still left on the schedule, he only stands to hurt his draft stock by what he could put on film in those game, even if that wouldn't wholly be his fault. That also doesn't even take into account the always-present risk of injury as well.
Furthermore, though it might be perceived by some, as mentioned, as "quitting" on USC, it might actually be best for the long-term outlook of Lincoln Riley's Trojans too.
Given the warts that Williams has masked over the past season and a half, USC might not be fully prepared for life without the quarterback. Were he to forego the rest of this season, though, it could allow Riley and the Trojans to hand the ball to freshman Malachi Nelson and pass the torch at quarterback a few games earlier than expected but better preparing the young QB for next season when he's presumed the be the next starter.
In all likelihood, this is just conjecture and not anything rooted in reality. Williams will likely continue to have to put USC on his back to finish out the season, whatever the results may be. Having said that, it would be foolish for the likely No. 1 pick in April's draft to not at least mull this possibility over given the state of the Trojans season following the loss to Utah.
