Caleb Williams’ father: ‘He’s got two shots at the apple,’ could return to USC instead of NFL draft

Caleb Williams: Heisman Trophy winner, potential conference and national champion and potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Or will he be?

The USC quarterback could return to school in 2024, playing for USC one more time, rather than be in NFL training camp. Well, that’s according to his father.

Williams and his father Carl spoke to GQ Magazine about the possibility.

“The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first. The system is completely backwards,” Carl Willaims told GQ. “The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league—because of their desire for parity—gets the first pick. So it’s the gift and the curse. I mean, I’ve talked to Archie Manning—his career was shot because he went to a horrible organization.” 

Carl Williams said he talked to USC head coach Lincoln Riley about a recent example: Riley’s former Oklahoma quarterback and former Cardinals No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray.

“I’ve talked to Lincoln [Riley], and Kyler [Murray] struggled because of where he was drafted,” Carl Williams said. “Baker [Mayfield] struggled mightily because of where he was drafted. The organizations matter.” 

The sticking point though? Caleb Williams can always come back to school. 

“He’s got two shots at the apple,” Carl Williams said. “So if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”

Even Caleb Williams admitted it would be weird in the NFL Draft. The choosing of a team or situation is now out of his control.

“I’ve always been able to choose the team that I’ve played on,” Caleb Williams said “And then everything’s been scheduled for me. I’ve had a plan for treatment, I’ve had a plan for workouts, I’ve had a plan for eating, I’ve had a plan for nutrition and things like that. Vitamins. A lot of shrimp and chicken breasts and fish. 

“But now, going into this next part of my career, it’s weird ’cause it’s so uncertain. You don’t know anything. You can’t control anything but you and how you act. That’s honestly the weirdest part for me, is the uncertainty.”

Caleb Williams might not have much more to prove if he goes out on top and with a second Heisman at USC, becoming on the second player to ever do so. He’s off to a good start: 597 yards, nine touchdowns, zero interceptions, a 73.5% completion percentage and 40 rushing yards.