Caleb Williams is focused on the Stanford Cardinal
There are many times when it seems as though Caleb Williams knows what’s coming from a defense and what the result of the play will be before he even takes the snap. On Wednesday, he proved he has that same foresight when it comes to media scrums. Williams received a question about the recent GQ article in which his father seemed to float the idea that Williams could return to USC for the 2024 season. He was ready with an answer.
“We’ve got Stanford this week, and that’s what I’ll be worried about,” Williams said quickly. “The game is three days out and so that’s the main focus, main goal, is to go out there against Stanford and not let my teammates down out there on Saturday.”
Williams continued by shutting down that line of questioning.
“That will be the answer to all of those questions toward the NFL,” Williams said. “I have 10 more games left here that I’m given. And then we’re working for the last three. So that’ll be the answer for all of that.”
In the GQ article, Williams’ father, Carl Williams, said: “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 Williams 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.”
Williams is the king of NIL when it comes to college football. He’s No. 3 in the On3 College Football NIL rankings, with a valuation of $2.6 million annually. The reality is he was making far more than that last year and has now added national brands in Dr. Pepper, Wendy’s and Nissan to his portfolio.
“He’s got two shots at the apple,” Carl Williams said in the GQ story. “So if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”
But for now, Williams is locked in on winning a national championship with the Trojans this season. And the road to that goal continues with a win against Stanford on Saturday night. The Cardinal have his full attention. He took note of Stanford’s new defensive coordinator, former Wisconsin linebackers coach Bobby April III, who stepped into a coordinator role for the Badgers when Jim Leonhard was promoted to interim head coach. Williams sees a couple of returning Cardinal players on defense, but knows it’ll look a bit different from last year under the new coaching staff.
Williams had one of his best games of the season against Stanford in 2022. He completed 74% of his passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.
“We’re excited to get out there and see what they’ve been showing on film and all the new tricks that they’ll try to bring on Saturday,” Williams said of the Cardinal defense.
