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Pete Thamel, ESPN
USC star quarterback Caleb Williams has long viewed his path through college football in the same way as most five-star prospects — a three-and-done track to the NFL. While being recruited, Williams’ father, Carl, asked schools for specific plans to illustrate how his son could become the “first pick in the 2024 draft.”
Heading into the 2023 season as the prohibitive favorite to be the No. 1 pick in April, Caleb Williams is on the precipice of that vision coming to fruition.
But Williams told ESPN this week that now that he is on the cusp of his goal, there remains a chance he could deviate from it.
“That’s for sure now going to be an in-the-moment decision at the end of the year,” Williams said of the 2024 NFL draft. “It’s my third year, and the dream and goal was to go three-and-out. Being around these guys and in college and enjoying it, we’ll have to see at the end of this year.”
Williams earned his status as college football’s top player after winning the Heisman Trophy last year by throwing for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns and running for 10 more touchdowns. He led USC to an 11-3 record and a spot in the Pac-12 title game.
Along the way, he said he has come to appreciate the college experience and the culture built at USC by coach Lincoln Riley. That’s one of the reasons Williams is not certain about the timing of his professional decision.
“Being in college now,” Williams told ESPN, “being part of this brotherhood and being with Coach Riley, it’s been awesome.”
Asked specifically if the NFL team in position to draft him could be a factor, Williams mentioned there’s “a lot” that could impact his decision, with variables ranging from the results of USC’s season to the draft situation and whether he accomplishes the goals he has set in college.
“I don’t think there’d be one specific thing to effect and detour that type of decision,” he said. “It’d have to be a multitude of things to lead me to one side or the other.”
Williams enters the 2023 season as college football’s defining star, a burgeoning boldfaced name in Los Angeles who said he was recognized when traveling in Europe with his mother, Dayna Price, this summer.
Williams’ profile will grow in the upcoming weeks when he stars in the Dr Pepper Fansville commercials, which will run throughout the season. His spot in the ads revolve around his pregame tradition of painting his fingernails and will feature his mom, who is a nail technician.
“It’s something I’ve been around all my life,” Williams said of the tradition. “I’m going to keep doing it. It’s my thing. And it’s something I’ve done before I got to college.”
Williams maintained that not much changed after he thrived in his first year at USC in 2022, when he transferred from Oklahoma in a move to follow Riley. It’s considered the highest-profile transfer portal move since the advent of one-time transfer.
He said his goals have remained the same — “to be one of the best, if not the best ever.” And that means he hasn’t changed much since his starring season.
“I try and stick to what got me here and pushing me along,” Williams said. “It’s not too hard when you have goals and aspirations that are bigger than this.”
Along with Riley, one of the new USC coaches who can help him achieve that goal is former NFL and Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who joined the staff this spring. Williams has connected with Kingsbury, whom he said he will send plays and concepts to. He said they will talk through them before going to Riley about adding them to the playbook.
“He’s a players’ coach and a great guy to have in the room,” Williams said. “Very real.”