Caleb Williams is coming off of a phenomenal Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 2022, where he razzle-dazzled his way to 4,537 passing yards and 52 total touchdowns for the USC Trojans. Williams has been oft-compared to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and has been projected for months to be the first overall pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Could Caleb Williams Return to School in 2024?
However, in an interview with GQ Magazine, Williams’ father, Carl, suggests that his son could return to school if he isn’t thrilled with the situation of the team picking first overall in this upcoming draft.
“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,” he says. “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.”
Carl Williams followed this up by saying, “He’s got two shots at the apple, so if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of this quote was Carl specifically naming Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield as quarterbacks who struggled after being placed on struggling teams.
“I mean, I’ve talked to Archie Manning — his career was shot because he went to a horrible organization. I’ve talked to Lincoln [Riley], and Kyler [Murray] struggled because of where he was drafted. Baker [Mayfield] struggled mightily because of where he was drafted. The organizations matter.”
Murray, Mayfield, and Caleb Williams all share their backgrounds playing quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, and it’s particularly interesting that the Arizona Cardinals are specifically mentioned here.
The Cardinals are projected by many to have the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. Could Carl be implying his son would return to USC if the Cardinals were picking first overall come 2024?
Would Caleb Williams Be the First QB To Return?
Quite frankly, this situation would be completely unprecedented. While there have been similar situations of quarterbacks being unhappy at their team selections, such as Eli Manning and John Elway, there hasn’t been a quarterback of Williams’ prowess return to college like this.
In an interview in 2021, Manning revealed that he was worried about the state of the Chargers’ organization after speaking with his agent. As such, he requested a trade from the Chargers less than an hour after they drafted him and was subsequently traded to the New York Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers and a first-round pick.
MORE: Caleb Williams 2024 NFL Draft Profile
A similar situation occurred with Elway and the Baltimore Colts. Baltimore held the No. 1 pick in the 1983 draft, but Elway had announced ahead of the event that he would rather play baseball than play for the Colts. Baltimore drafted him anyway but would then turn around and trade Elway to the Denver Broncos just days after the selection occurred.
However, there has yet to be a quarterback of Williams’ prowess that has returned to college specifically over the teams picking at the top of the draft. One advantage that Williams has over the rest of the quarterbacks throughout history is the amount of money in college sports right now is significantly greater than it ever has been.
GQ magazine specifically refers to Williams as the “pride and joy of Los Angeles,” and Williams’ multiple business ventures are well-documented.
While there will likely be some skepticism over the speculations Carl Williams made on Caleb’s NFL future, there is no quarterback placed in a better situation to do so than him.