USC QB Caleb Williams Confident He'll Play in Cotton Bowl Despite Hamstring Injury

It sounds like the Tulane Green Wave are going to have to deal with the Heisman Trophy winner in the Cotton Bowl.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams said he remains "confident" that he will play in the Jan. 2 bowl game despite suffering a hamstring injury during the Trojans' loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, per Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com.

While star players sitting out of bowl games has become rather commonplace at this point in college football, that is often done by players who are headed to the NFL draft.

Williams is still a sophomore and will be returning to USC next season, so the bowl game could be something of a kickstart to his 2023 campaign if he is healthy enough to play. Tulane isn't exactly a powerhouse program, but this is still a New Year's Six bowl and a chance for USC to make a statement after losing to the Utes.

Having the Heisman Trophy winner on the field is the best way to do just that.

He completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns with four interceptions while adding 372 yards and 10 scores on the ground. His individual brilliance was often necessary because the Trojans struggled on the defensive side of the ball at times throughout the campaign.

Even with those defensive struggles, it seemed like the program was on the way to its first College Football Playoff as it went into the Pac-12 title game.

However, Utah bullied USC up front, had no trouble moving the ball against that lackluster defense, and controlled the second half of a 47-24 victory.

It certainly didn't help USC's cause that its star quarterback was limping around for much of the contest because of the hamstring injury, but it might not have made a massive difference given the way the game unfolded.

Williams is seemingly on the way back for the bowl game, though, and can get the Trojans heading in the right direction ahead of the 2023 campaign where he will be looking to join Ohio State's Archie Griffin as the only player in history to win two Heisman Trophies.