USC Football: Insider Considers Caleb Williams Not Quite A Generational Prospect

He does have a point.

The way people label athletes nowadays is fascinating in itself because quite often pressure gets put on players when it never needs to be. We don't allow athletes to just be themselves anymore, and there is always something lurking over their shoulders.

It has allowed different labels to be thrown around easily and has hurt the stock of the games we love. For USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, the pressure he faces every game has been apparent. 

After winning the Heisman Trophy a year ago, Williams has followed up that campaign with another impressive one. He has looked the part of the best quarterback in the country once again, but now he is getting called a generational talent.

Danny Kelly of The Ringer believes that Williams is a great quarterback, but he isn’t on the generational scale just yet.

“The term “generational” gets thrown around a little too much, and I’m not quite ready to use that on Williams just yet, but it’s clear that the Trojans signal-caller brings both the rare physical skill set and statistical résumé to stack up with some of the most highly touted quarterbacks of the past two decades—from Andrew Luck to Trevor Lawrence, Cam Newton, Joe Burrow, and Matthew Stafford.”

Per Danny Kelly of The Ringer

This isn’t taking anything away from Williams or his greatness, but rather Kelly pointing out that we often label players things far too early in their careers. Generational means a player is something that we have seen only once in a generation, and there are hardly any players like that.

The closest one in recent memory has been Joe Burrow with LSU during the 2019 season because we quite literally haven’t seen a dominant season like that. Williams is incredible, but at least in college, he doesn't scratch the surface regarding what Burrow did against SEC opponents.

Williams will be the first overall pick if health stays in his favor, and he will help some poor NFL team. But let's cool the breaks on the unnecessary generational claim and just appreciate his greatness for what it is.

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