Caleb Williams

Last updated

Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams Oklahoma.jpg
Williams with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021
No. 18 – Chicago Bears
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (2001-11-18) November 18, 2001 (age 22)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.)
College:
NFL draft: 2024  / Round: 1 / Pick:  1
Career history
Roster status:Unsigned draft pick
Career highlights and awards
Player stats at PFR

Caleb Sequan Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and USC Trojans and was selected first overall by the Bears in the 2024 NFL draft. Williams won the Heisman Trophy and several other awards with USC in 2022 after throwing for over 4,500 yards with 52 total touchdowns, the latter being a single-season school record.

Contents

Early life

Williams was born on November 18, 2001, in Washington, D.C., later attending Gonzaga College High School. [1] [2] As a sophomore in 2018, he led Gonzaga to a WCAC Championship as the best team in the District, and was named Washington Post 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. [3] As a junior in 2019, he was named Washington Post All-Metropolitan 1st team for the second consecutive year after he passed 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. [4] In 2020, his 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. [5] [6] [7]

College career

Oklahoma (2021)

Williams entered his true freshman season at Oklahoma in 2021 as the backup to Spencer Rattler, [8] [9] 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. [10] In that game, Oklahoma was down 35–17 before Williams replaced Rattler and led the Sooners to a 55–48 victory. [11] He finished with 212 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 88 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown. [12] 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. [13] In 7 games he finished his freshman year with 21 passing touchdowns, 6 rushing touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. [14]

USC (2022–2023)

On January 3, 2022, Williams entered the transfer portal, and on February 1, he announced that he had transferred to USC, reuniting him with head coach Lincoln Riley, who had been the head coach for the Sooners before being hired away by the Trojans the previous November. [15] [16] Williams was named the starter on August 25 [17] and team captain on August 31. [18] In his first start against Rice, he went 19/22 with 249 yards and two touchdowns, as USC won 66–14. [19] He became the AP College Football Player of the Year, USC's first winner since Reggie Bush in 2005, [20] and was named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. [21] His 42 passing touchdowns led the NCAA. [22]

Williams and the Trojans went 7–5 in 2023 during the regular season, throwing for 3,333 yards with 31 passing and 11 rushing touchdowns. [23] [24] He declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the season, finishing his college career throwing for nearly 10,000 yards with 120 total touchdowns. [25]

Statistics

College statistics
YearSchoolGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2021 Oklahoma 1175–213621164.51,9129.1214169.6794425.66
2022 USC 141411–333350066.64,5379.1425168.51133823.410
2023 12127–526638868.63,3338.6305170.1971421.511
Career 373323–10735109966.99,7829.29314169.32899663.327

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		214 lb
(97 kg)		32 in
(0.81 m)		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)
All values from NFL Combine [26] [27]

Williams was selected first overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL draft. [28] The Bears previously acquired this pick along with wide receiver D. J. Moore in a trade that sent the first overall pick (which the Carolina Panthers used to draft Bryce Young) in the 2023 NFL draft. [29] He was one of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying the 1983 draft for the most in NFL history. [30]

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References

  1. ↑ "Caleb Williams '21 Named Gatorade D.C. Player of the Year". Gonzaga College High School. December 6, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ Murray, William (December 13, 2022). "Gonzaga and St. Pius X schools cheer as graduate Caleb Williams wins Heisman Trophy". Catholic Standard. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Caleb Williams '21 Named Gatorade D.C. Player of the Year". Gonzaga College High School. December 6, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  4. ↑ Garcia, John Jr. (July 1, 2020). "Caleb Williams Named 2020 Elite 11 Finals MVP". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lourim, Jake (July 4, 2020). "Gonzaga's Caleb Williams, the nation's top QB prospect, commits to Oklahoma". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  6. ↑ VanHaaren, Tom (July 4, 2020). "Top dual-threat QB Williams commits to Sooners". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ Aber, Ryan (July 5, 2020). "Caleb Williams commits to Oklahoma Sooners". The Oklahoman . Retrieved October 11, 2023– via The Ledger , Lakeland, Florida.
  8. ↑ Horning, Clay (April 24, 2021). "Horning: Caleb Williams should still be in high school but he stole the spring game instead". The Norman Transcript . Norman, Oklahoma . Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Aber, Ryan (August 8, 2021). "'Sky's the limit': Caleb Williams' growth backing up Spencer Rattler is crucial for OU football". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Dave (October 9, 2021). "Riley's QB swap pays off in 'epic' OU rivalry win". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ Cooper, Sam (October 9, 2021). "Oklahoma storms back from huge deficit, shocks Texas 55-48 on last-second TD". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Dave (October 9, 2021). "Riley's QB swap pays off in 'epic' OU rivalry win". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  13. ↑ Hoover, John E. (October 16, 2021). "Caleb Williams Shines as Oklahoma Downs TCU". SI.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Caleb Williams 2021 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  15. ↑ Thamel, Pete (February 1, 2022). "Former Oklahoma Sooners QB Caleb Williams transferring to the USC Trojans". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Williams, Caleb [@CALEBcsw] (February 1, 2022). "#FightOn" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2022– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Trevino, Chris (August 25, 2022). "Lincoln Riley: QB Caleb Williams will start the season for USC football". 247sports.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ Fletcher III, James (August 31, 2022). "Caleb Williams reveals his reaction to being named 2022 USC team captain". On3.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  19. ↑ "USC v. Rice Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  20. ↑ Beacham, Greg (December 8, 2022). "USC QB Caleb Williams voted AP Player of the Year". Associated Press News . Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Uggeti, Paolo (December 10, 2022). "USC QB Caleb Williams outraces field, wins Heisman Trophy". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  22. ↑ "2022 College Football Leaders". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Caleb Williams 2023 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  24. ↑ "2023 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  25. ↑ Thamel, Pete (January 15, 2024). "USC's Caleb Williams, potential No. 1 pick, enters NFL draft". ESPN. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Caleb Williams Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  27. ↑ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Caleb Williams College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  28. ↑ Farmer, Sam (April 26, 2024). "USC's Caleb Williams, UCLA's Laiatu Latu are top pick and top defender taken in draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  29. ↑ Taylor, Ryan (April 25, 2024). "Bears' No. 1 pick trade to the Panthers in 2023 is a haul. Here's where the compensation stands". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  30. ↑ Alper, Josh (April 25, 2024). "Six quarterbacks in first round ties NFL record". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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