Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams
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Caleb Williams

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Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following one season of college football with the Oklahoma Sooners, he played for the USC Trojans and won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 after setting single-season school records in passing yards and touchdowns.

Williams was selected as the first overall pick by the Bears in the 2024 NFL draft, setting several franchise rookie passing records. The following year, he led Chicago to their first division title since 2018 and first playoff win since 2010.

Williams was born on November 18, 2001 in Washington, D.C., later attending Gonzaga College High School, where he played high school football. Williams is of Black and Native American descent. He is a member of the Piscataway-Conoy Tribe of Maryland. As a sophomore in 2018, Williams led Gonzaga to a WCAC Championship on a game winning Hail Mary pass as time expired. He was named Washington Post's All-Metropolitan 1st team and Washington, D.C. Gatorade Football Player of the Year after he passed for 2,624 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and rushed for 394 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a junior in 2019, Williams was named Washington Post's All-Metropolitan first team for the second consecutive year after throwing for 1,770 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushed for 838 yards with 18 touchdowns. He was named the Elite 11 finals MVP the following summer. In 2020, Williams's senior season was cancelled due to COVID-19. The highest-rated quarterback prospect of his class, Williams committed to play college football at the University of Oklahoma.

Williams entered his true freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021 as the backup to Spencer Rattler, before assuming the role as starting quarterback midway through the Sooners' rivalry game with the Texas Longhorns in the team's sixth game of the season. In that game, Oklahoma was down 35–17 before Williams replaced Rattler and led the Sooners to a 55–48 victory. He finished with 212 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 88 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown. Williams made his first start the following week, against Texas Christian University, and threw for 295 yards, four touchdowns, and rushed for 66 yards and a rushing touchdown as Oklahoma won 52–31. Williams finished his freshman year with 1,912 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions to go along with 79 carries for 442 yards and six touchdowns in seven games.

On January 3, 2022, Williams entered the transfer portal, and on February 1, he announced that he had transferred to the University of Southern California to play for the Trojans. This reunited Williams with head coach Lincoln Riley, who had been the head coach for the Sooners before being hired away by the Trojans the previous November. Williams was named the starter on August 25, and team captain six days later. In his first start against Rice, Williams completed 19 of 22 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns as USC won 66–14. In their final game of the season, the Trojans were defeated by the Tulane Green Wave in the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic. The final score was 45–46. Williams became the AP College Football Player of the Year, USC's first winner since Reggie Bush in 2005, and was named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. Williams finished the season with 4,537 passing yards for an NCAA-leading 42 touchdowns and five interceptions to go along with 113 carries for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Williams and the Trojans went 7–5 in 2023 during the regular season, throwing for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns, and five interceptions to go along with 142 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the season, finishing his college career throwing for over 10,000 yards with 120 total touchdowns.

As is the school's tradition for Heisman winners, Williams's number 13 was retired by USC in 2024.

Williams was widely projected to be one of the first players selected in the 2024 NFL draft and the top quarterback in the draft class. His improvisational abilities in college were touted by analysts as one of his biggest strengths, such as ESPN's draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. describing Williams as a "fabulous playmaker", though skepticism was levied at his smaller size and tendency to play "hero ball" to find a better play rather than a safer option. NFL.com draft writer Lance Zierlein and Bleacher Report's Derrik Klassen compared Williams' profile to Kyler Murray, while Fox Sports' Bucky Brooks and CBSSports.com drew parallels to Russell Wilson and Steve McNair.

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