When Caleb Williams revealed he wanted to top 7-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady - “You got to set the bar high”

With the 2023 college football season almost behind us and the 2024 NFL draft fast approaching, USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams is already thinking far ahead in the future. Despite a disappointing second half of this season, Williams is widely expected to be the first pick of the draft.

Even before the halfway point of this year's season, the USC man already had his mind on the NFL it seems. In the October issue of GQ Sports, he told the magazine what his future goals were:

“First pick of the draft and then (my other goal) is eight Super Bowls. ... Tom Brady has seven, so you got to set the bar high.”

High expectations indeed, considering that no one is even near the legendary New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB in the standings. Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana are second with four Lombardi trophies each, and Troy Aikman is third with three.

The level of confidence is either praise-worthy or borderline insane from a player who doesn't even know where he will end up come April.

One of the qualities Caleb Williams seemed to lack in 2023, especially in the second half of the season, was an ability to cope with failure. Coping with and overcoming failure is a key ability for a No. 1 draft pick, given that he will almost certainly end up in a franchise in tatters.

Is Caleb Williams enough to make a franchise succeed?

While Tom Brady was key to the 2000s-2010s Patriots dynasty, he wasn't the only piece. He was well served by being part of one of the best-coached teams in history and one of the league's most talented rosters.

Only history will tell if whoever gets Caleb Williams will make use of such a valuable resource at their disposal. He wouldn't be the first top pick of the draft whose talents were wasted by an inept organization.

While the quarterback position is by far the most important on a football team, it isn't the only one. A signal-caller is just a part of the whole, and for the whole to succeed, it needs to be properly managed.