Kirk Herbstreit on chances Caleb Williams returns to USC in 2024: 'I'd be surprised'

As of late, USC star quarterback Caleb Williams has been the talk of the college football and NFL world. Many experts expect Williams to be the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if he comes out after this season. But that ‘if’ appears to be a big if, given some recent reports about the Trojans star quarterback strongly considering to return to the program if a team he does not fancy winds up with the top pick. 

On Thursday, as a guest on the Pat McAfee Show, college football expert and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit shared his thoughts on whether or not it is likely Williams will return to USC for the 2024 season. 

“I don’t know. We live in such a new world. He said five teams… I can’t remember the teams. I’ve never heard anybody come out and just say that,” said Herbstreit. “But that’s kind of where we are now. Who are we to not believe that? Last time I checked, though, teams trade up, right. I mean, teams trade to get to that number one spot to get their opportunity to take a Caleb Williams. So I mean, it’s hard to say, if you go by the end of the season, hey, Carolina has the first pick or the Bears have the first pick. And for him to potentially pull himself out and say I’m going to stay at SC, we’d love that in the college game because he’s so much fun to watch. But I’d be surprised if that ended up happening. I have no idea what he makes at SC. You gotta believe it’s pretty good.  

“But I think about just the idea of NIL putting a player in a position to think about staying in college because he doesn’t want to go to one of these terrible franchises, and he wants to just stay; you know, I’ll come back the next year. I don’t know if he’ll end up doing it, but it’s remarkable that he or somebody came out and said that.” 

The hype around Williams is real. He is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and is in position to capture that accolade a second time. Williams has a skillset that almost every NFL team would trade up in the 2024 Draft to acquire his services. But with NIL, there is a possibility he could prefer to stay in Los Angeles, CA, with the Trojans for one more season. However, Herbstreit doesn’t see that as the likely avenue Williams will take in his career.