"Probably had a good old long cry with his mommy" - Caleb Williams opting out of Holiday Bowl leads to social media meltdown

Fans have reacted to Caleb Williams opting out of the Holiday Bowl against Louisville. According to USC coach Lincoln Riley, Williams won’t be playing the game. Following the trend of highly rated draft prospects opting out of bowl games, Williams might have played his last game in college football for the Trojans.

Although he was reportedly considering a return to college football for his senior season in 2024 depending on the draft order, there hasn't been an announcement on that. However, all indications suggest that he's leaning towards entering the professional ranks.

Williams becomes the third quarterback to opt out of a bowl game since the trend started in 2016, following in the footsteps of Florida's Anthony Richardson and Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett.

The decision to opt out of the Holiday Bowl hasn't gone well with college football fans. One tweeted:

"Probably had a good old long cry with his mommy before this decision."

Let's take a look at some of the top reactions on X:

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Is a college football return possible for Caleb Williams?

Despite being widely regarded as the consensus first-overall pick in the upcoming draft, there's an outside chance that Caleb Williams could return to college football.

After many highly rated quarterbacks found it tough to adapt to the NFL, partly due to their landing spot, Williams is exercising caution regarding his professional career and is committed to making the right decision for his future.

At the start of the 2023 season, Caleb Williams' father, Carl mentioned the possibility that his son might opt not to enter the 2024 NFL Draft if the potential team holding the No. 1 spot isn't considered suitable. For him, the organization really matters.

Carl emphasized concerns about the draft system, pointing out that the first overall pick frequently goes to the worst-performing team. He added that the organization the likes of Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield found themselves is responsible for their struggles.

"The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he'd almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first," Carl said.

"The system is completely backward. 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.”

Nonetheless, with the outlook of the 2024 NFL Draft, a good number of teams are out to get a quarterback. That could see some reputed team trade up to No. 1 to select Caleb Williams. Notably, there's been talks of the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings doing that.