Caleb Williams elects not to speak to media following UCLA loss
With Caleb Williams possibly playing his last game of college football on Saturday, the USC quarterback was not interested in talking. Williams declined to speak with media following a 38-20 loss to UCLA, Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times reported.
It was another disappointing day for the Trojans, who dropped their fifth game in the past six contests to close out the regular season 7-5. Williams did as much as he could, finishing 31-of-42 passing for 384 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but to no avail.
The quarterback is widely considered to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft should he decide to enter. Although he does have one more season of college eligibility remaining, many players in such a position opt to forgo their final year to begin their pro careers.
Williams has so far not stated whether he intends to enter the draft. If he does, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him also sit out USC’s bowl game. He ends the 2023 regular season with 3,633 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
USC fell behind early and could never catch back up as UCLA raced out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Trojans managed to cut the deficit to 14-10 by halftime, but were outscored 17-3 in the third quarter as the Bruins put the game away for good.
Williams delivered an electric play in the second quarter on a 74-yard touchdown connection with Brenden Rice. Unfortunately, he was mostly quiet in the second half after USC fumbled on its first drive of the half and later turned it over on downs at its own 37-yard line, resulting in a Bruins touchdown.
USC will now have the next several weeks off as it awaits to find out where it will play in bowl competition. That causes the attention now to turn to Williams’ future, and this puzzling decision certainly makes it seem as if his college days are done.
Caleb Williams on how he wants to be remembered at USC
With Williams’ collegiate career potentially on the horizon, he was asked following Wednesday’s practice this week how he wants to be remembered by the USC fan base.
“I honestly haven’t thought of anything like that,” Williams honestly admitted. “I’d say a player that went out there and gave his all every play, every chance he got. I’d say a player that cared for his teammates. I’d say a player that wanted to go out there and win every single game that we had.”
Williams will likely be remembered for all of those things and more if this is in fact his final season with the Trojans, as he and head coach Lincoln Riley became a part of the program in 2022 and immediately made a strong impact.