Bruce Feldman details why Caleb Williams will not shut down his season
The more USC loses, the more some have questioned if quarterback Caleb Williams should shut things down for the remainder of the college football season and focus on the next level.
The Trojans are 1-3 in their last four games, are no longer ranked, and are more than likely not playing in any postseason championship or playoff game outside of a bowl. That paired with him almost guaranteed to be the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft made ‘Rich Eisen Show’ guest host Suzy Shuster ask college football insider Bruce Feldman why Williams should finish the season.
“I think the point is for your teammates to be honest,” Feldman said. “We see all these videos of him being fairly generous for the stuff he’s given through his NIL to his teammates. But look, you’re around them all year round, workouts, you live with them, game obviously, without Caleb, this team is probably a .500 team.”
Williams has still had yet another dominant season after taking home the Heisman Trophy a season ago, leading the nation in touchdown passes and ranking second in passing yards, but Shuster brought up the fact that every game he plays to finish the season comes with the risk of getting injured.
“He could, but I think it’s like you’re preaching about finish and all these other things that go with it. When adversity hits, look if he decided and his family decided you know what we’re just gonna get ready for the draft, I would understand it,” Feldman said. “But at the same time I think everything we hear, and look coaches can be guilty of this too, but everything we hear is when adversity hits you gotta to finish and you got all these things that go with especially the football mentality.”
Williams sitting out for the remainder of the season would definitely come with criticism about his loyalty and dedication to the USC program and his teammates. But Feldman and many in the college football landscape saw a moment from Williams following their most recent loss that depicts quite the opposite.
“I would say this, the most memorable thing I saw in the USC-Washington game as wild and entertaining as it was, the most memorable thing I’ll take from it was seeing Caleb jump in the stands with his mom and covered his face and you can see his body kind of shaking. And I just was watching that, and I’m watching it on a plane as I’m coming home from Austin last week and I’m just thinking this is not like anything you’d ever see in the NFL,” Feldman said.
Williams had a moment of vulnerability after the Trojans loss to Washington on Saturday as he shared a moment of embrace with his mother in the stands with her covering his face as he cried.
“On one hand you look at Caleb and you’re like he looks like he’s an NFL guy now. A lot of facial hair, he’s not a skinny kid, he’s a strong, developed kid, very well spoken, very thoughtful, and for like three years he’s carried himself like almost he’s ready for the NFL. And I’m not saying he’s not emotionally or physically certainly, but you watch him and you remember there’s still a kid here and that was very real to me,” Feldman said. “And hopefully it was a reminder to all of us, yeah there’s NIL, there’s all this other stuff and all this visibility and commercials and everything. But at the same time if you showed me that clip and it was Jordan Love up in the stands or whoever, you pick the player, Zach Wilson or whoever, it would really surprise me.”
From the emotions of it to injury risk and the future in the NFL awaiting him in less than a year’s time, there’s no question that there are various variables that would go into William’s potential decision. But with just two games remaining in the regular season, there’s still been no indication from Caleb Williams that he won’t be suiting up for the Trojans any time soon.
“But this is kind of the reality for these guys, and so I don’t know what’s in his head, how much he thinks about do I want to risk an injury, or how much do I feel like do I owe for the team, just part of me is burning to be like I’m not going out this way at USC,” Feldman said. “I think only he can answer that and we’re in a different place now than we were ten years ago when Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffery decided to not play in a bowl game. Those are running backs and they know injuries are a real thing, Caleb I’m sure he has an insurance policy, but that could still be a game changer for him.”
Williams and his USC squad face No. 6 Oregon this Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET in a game airing on FOX.