Caleb Williams after throwing out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium on July 7. Credit: Los Angeles Dodgers
Following A One-Of-A-Kind Summer Break, Caleb Williams Gets Ready To Get Back To Work
Caleb Williams has been a busy man since he became a Heisman Trophy winner, and we’re not even counting his work in USC’s bowl game or the five weeks of the Trojans’ spring practice season, not to mention his class load.
The latest stop for Williams was at the just-completed 2023 Pac-12 Media Day in Las Vegas where the Trojan star joined other conference standouts to preview the 2023 season.
Before we dig into Williams’ outlook as he prepares to start fall camp, here’s a quick review of some of what the 2022 Heisman winner has been up to.
In February, he was, the honorary starter for NASCAR’s The Clash at the Coliseum, the start of many high-profile appearances.
In March, Williams was in Miami to take part in the Hugo Boss Spring/Summer 2023 Miami Fashion Show where he appeared alongside many worldwide stars from the entertainment and sports worlds.
He returned home to the Washington D.C. area after USC’s spring semester in late May to promote the East Coast launch of the Caleb Cares Foundation, an organization designed to promote mental health awareness and prevent bullying.
The launch, which saw the Heisman Trophy Trust donate $25,000 to the foundation, took place at his prep alma mater, Gonzaga College High. The school embraced Williams with a pep rally in his honor and also surprised him by retiring his high school uniform No. 18.
A day later, Williams threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game, which was not the only time he would do so at a Major League game this summer. More on that shortly.
Less than two weeks later, Williams was on the French Riviera to attend the famed Monaco Grand Prix, where GQ Sports shared this shot of Williams outside the famous track.
On July 7, Williams joined a handful of his trusty offensive linemen on another Major League stage, this time throwing out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium, just a handful of miles north of the USC campus. The offensive linemen posse was reminiscent of when he brought eight Trojan linemen to the 2022 Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Here’s the pitch!
And come Aug. 10, Williams will have the rare distinction of being featured in a Dodger Stadium giveaway on Caleb Williams Bobblehead night.
Williams is about 10 grades in school removed from having to write about what he did during summer break, but what an essay he could pen.
Which leads to his appearance at last week’s Pac-12 Media Day, where Williams talked about his goals for this fall as he returns as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Williams expressed focus and determination and a clearcut goal of getting USC to the College Football Playoff in 2023, something the Trojans fell just short of last season.
“I’m very determined,” Williams told ESPN on Friday. “I haven’t been in the College Football Playoff in my two years of playing. It’s been tough. It bothers me because I play for championships. I don’t play for anything else. So not being able to have the chance and being so close frustrates me. This year it’s going to be a good one.”
He, of course, was asked about potentially joining Archie Griffin as only the second two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy. His answer, understandably, focused on another trophy.
“It would mean something, but the golden one at the end would mean a lot more to me,” Williams said, referencing the CFP trophy. “It’d be an honor to have the second one, to only be the second one out of even the smaller group of 88 of us, it would be a pleasure and honor, but the golden one at the end is what I play for and what most people play for.”
