What makes Caleb Williams different? Bears players, coaches share stories

Rome Odunze preferred to sit on the bench and reset when the University of Washington’s defense took the field. He wanted to catch his breath before the next series.

Except when Caleb Williams was the opponent. He was must-see.

Odunze already had a perception of Williams thanks to a viral moment from Oklahoma. As a freshman, Williams took the ball from his running back who was about to go down short of the first down on fourth-and-1 and converted it himself.

“I was like, ‘Oh, OK. He plays a little different,’” Odunze said.

When USC’s offense took the field, Odunze didn’t sit down. He had to see, in person, what Williams was all about.

“I was on the sideline watching like, ‘Oh, my goodness, they’re doing their thing.’ He was doing his thing with the scrambles, with the throws,” Odunze said. “That definitely confirmed it, OK, this dude’s got something different in him.”

Since Williams arrived at Halas Hall — as the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, the Bears’ starting quarterback, and the franchise’s hope to end its decades of wandering through the quarterback desert — the descriptor used most often for what he’s done on and off the field is “different.”

Odunze saw it in college. Players and coaches had seen the highlights. Now everyone has experienced it at Halas Hall.

“I’ve followed Caleb since he was a freshman at high school,” wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said. “I’ve seen a lot of Caleb make some throws that you just look to the side and like, ‘Did you see that?’ That hasn’t really changed.”

From how he throws the football to how he interacts with his teammates, Williams does not operate like a rookie quarterback. He is sure to still have the typical rookie ups and downs, but he’s wired in a rare way for a first-year QB. Throughout training camp, in conversations with The Athletic, players and coaches recounted their first impressions that told them what Odunze already knew: OK, Williams is different.

The arm talent

As Tyson Bagent prepared for his new teammate, the starter he’d be backing up, someone who had seen Williams throw told him something that stuck.

“He was born to throw,” Bagent said.

Then Bagent saw it for himself, the things Williams could do that other quarterbacks couldn’t. As Bagent described it, the extremely confident quarterback himself was emphatic about Williams’ traits.

“Just a crazy, blessed athlete,” he said.

Six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen could already see it when he watched USC highlights. Sure, catching the passes from Williams helped affirm it, but he already had a sense of why Williams was the no-question No. 1 pick.

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“Probably the way he throws the ball,” Allen said. “The angles that he gets to, rolling out, whether he’s rolling right or left, it’s pretty impressive the way he can deliver it. You could see it (on tape).”

Once the full team got together at Halas Hall to begin OTAs and then training camp, the veterans could see what this new quarterback could do. The throws he made were different.

Tight end Cole Kmet: The pick he threw (in camp). I know it’s a pick. But what a crazy throw, and Tyrique (Stevenson) made an unbelievable catch on that. But just those types of throws where he’s stagnant, maybe his feet get caught in the pocket, and he’s able to rotate his hips and create that torque and whip with his arm. It’s a very pitch-like motion for baseball; it’s just really impressive. And he’s able to layer the ball with good touch and feel.

Defensive tackle Dashaun Mallory: He had a throw in the back of the end zone. It was one of those passes where it was like, man, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any quarterback make that type of throw over two people, short amount of space for the wide receiver to get his feet in, and he throws an absolute dart.

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Beatty: He’s had some (throws) here in camp that you sit back and say, “Man, he spins it different.” He had Keenan on a seam, maybe three weeks ago, and just the way he threw it and the way it came off and the platform that he threw it from, you just look at each other like, “Man, did I just see what I saw?”

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron had seen all the “incredible arm angles” on Williams’ college tape, and then on the practice fields, but he wanted to experience it in a game. It didn’t take long.

Waldron: The first preseason game against the Bills, I know we had a designed rollout that he hit Cole on, you just feel his accuracy on the move. And then in the second preseason game that he played in, obviously getting out and getting on the edge on some scrambles and seeing how he is able to do that while also protecting the ball. There’s an elegance to it.

Defensive coordinator Eric Washington: After I saw the screen pass in Buffalo … and the way he had to contort his arm, the way he had to fit the ball and just to feel and the timing of it — he held the ball long enough to get the entire defense out of position and for them to be leveraged out of the play. And so that’s unusual. That is unusual. Just to understand, OK, here comes pressure, so we’ve got one guy back here, and if we can hold this long enough and fit it through a tight window, we have a chance for this to be an explosive play. That’s not usual — that kind of feel and understanding how to make what the defense is doing work against them and make the offensive concept go. So there’s been a lot. I’ve seen a lot of things out here, his touch, his deep-ball touch, his ability to fire the ball with velocity at different angles and going away from the target. And all of those things are high-end skills.

Defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke: He’s extremely accurate with throwing the football on the move. He can change his throw position to make it happen, and he goes to his left just as well as he goes to his right.

The athleticism

When a quarterback scrambles during training camp, some completions that follow can typically be dismissed. The scramble itself should count as a win for the defense’s coverage and rush. The quarterbacks, of course, can’t be hit.

But exceptions can and should be made when something impressive happens — when you know that the QB successfully eluded the rush.

One example came early in camp on July 22. Williams scrambled and then hit receiver DJ Moore streaking down the middle of the defense for a long touchdown on Field 1 at Halas Hall.

Former Bears QB Brett Rypien: It’s hard to simulate him getting outside the pocket and making plays. And, you know, he saw a little bit of it yesterday. …  You go back and watch (the touchdown to Moore). And those are the type of plays you look at and you’re like, that’s special. That’s stuff you can’t teach.

Defensive end DeMarcus Walker: That’s the thing with today’s quarterbacks, you got to be able to move and throw a dot while being uncomfortable. Because you got guys moving so fast and running 4.4s, 4.3s, 4.5s. It’s definitely challenging — a guy who can run like Caleb with his quick feet. … When I saw his film, I knew that Caleb could move. Justin Fields was fast — fast fast. (Caleb) is very quick like a rabbit.

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Rypien: The main thing is the on-the-run ability right away and the release is really, really good. That’s one thing you see these guys coming out nowadays. Guys that have success early, you have to have a lightning-quick release. The zoning defenders are so fast in this league. It’s so hard if you’re not able to get to your base quickly, get the ball out and get it there accurately. And he’s done that, and it’s gotten better and better.

Running back Khalil Herbert: I feel like he has at least one a day, something he does that’s just like, “Wow. Did you see that?” Sneaky, athletic. … I ran a Y route, and he no-look threw it to me. I was getting ready to run down the field and like, “Oh, the ball’s coming to me.” He was looking down the field. So he just does things that you don’t see a lot of young guys do, and he does it at a really high level. He definitely makes some of those plays every single day.

Williams also made them during the preseason. The game against the Cincinnati Bengals featured plays that give defensive coaches nightmares.

The rookie quarterback did his part on what should have been a touchdown to Odunze in the back end zone, but he followed it up by running for a 7-yard touchdown that left two Bengals defenders behind him.

Hoke: The play that he scrambled and he scored the touchdown on, he felt those guys. The way he backed out of that pocket and that situation that he was in, just feeling the lineman and was able to escape that and score, it shows that he’s got a lot of pocket presence. He feels things around the pocket, and he’s extremely accurate.

The maturity

Any doubts about how Williams, a superstar in college, would handle being a rookie in an NFL building were quickly dispelled.

From how he handles adversity in practice to the way he is in the locker room to the way he handles his press conferences, Williams hasn’t acted like a rookie.

Wide receiver DJ Moore: I never see him down after a certain play. Just having that short-term memory is real short-term with him. He’ll let the play go and then when we go to the sideline, bring it up, go through the whole thing. That’s unique. If a quarterback can remember all the plays that he ran and the ones he messed up for sure, we’ve got something special.

Washington: I just like the way carries himself. He carries himself with a certain level of confidence and humility. Because he’s going to go through it a little bit, and if he does, or when he does, you know that he’s going to bounce out of it very, very quickly.

Defensive tackle Andrew Billings: He acts like he’s been here. And that sounds crazy. Any rookie that acts like he’s been here, you don’t like it. But when it’s the quarterback, it’s needed. It really is needed. That’s what I watch. I watch how he is in practice. If everything doesn’t go well, like what does he do? Some guys are like, “Oh, man.” Can they go to the next play? He goes to the next play very well.

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Linebacker T.J. Edwards: I like when people come in, no matter who they are, rookies or a vet that signed, and they’re truly themselves. For someone to come in, especially first-round pick, all that hype, I don’t know what that feels like — he just came in and has been himself. He’s a positive dude, which I really like. … It’s easy to want to come in and try to fit this mold or narrative. He’s just himself, and that’s the best part.

Safety Kevin Byard: We’re playing cards. It may be me, Tremaine (Edmunds), Keenan Allen and Caleb. Since I’ve been in the league, I played with some good quarterbacks, he just seems like he’s part of the guys. To be a rookie, obviously, he’s already been put in a leadership position. I think he’s doing a good job bonding with the entire team and not just his offensive line or his running backs or receivers. He’s hanging with the defensive guys, we’re all hanging out in the back of the bus making jokes. You just don’t normally see that from a rookie who just got into a position where he’s around a lot of veteran guys, who’s around guys who’ve made a lot of plays in this league. I just feel like he just fits in so well with this team and the culture.

At Williams’ pro day, coach Matt Eberflus, Waldron and general manager Ryan Poles were all struck by Williams’ personality. Waldron saw Williams treating everyone at dinner, from teammates to waiters, with respect. “His ability to connect with everyone,” Waldron said. That was also evident during the preseason.

Waldron: When you see him in the family area post-practice, you don’t have to ask him to do anything. He goes and says hi to people, like Hoss (Jason Houghtaling), our assistant O-line coach, and his family who (Williams) hadn’t met yet. Or you see him in the cafeteria in those settings and you do the right thing when you’re a good person and you’ve had the right values instilled in you from your parents, and that’s really showed up with him.

Bears players and coaches say Caleb Williams carries himself like a veteran, which is unusual for an NFL rookie. (Todd Rosenberg / Getty Images)

The confidence

If “different” is the No. 1 adjective we’ve heard about Williams, “confident” would be a close second. He’s acknowledged it, and everyone who knows him sees it. Williams seems to straddle the line well between confident and cocky, which is even trickier when walking into an NFL building as a rookie.

The Bears aren’t necessarily an old team, but they have plenty of veterans. Williams has assimilated nicely on and off the field.

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds: Particularly from a young guy, just seeing his confidence day in and day out. I think that’s the No. 1 thing that sticks out. Because no matter what the talent level is, if you don’t come in with confidence, it’s gonna take away from your athletic ability, your talent and all the things that you’re used to doing.

Byard: It might’ve been the second or third play (of the Bills game), and I think he had scrambled out to his right. It was something that most people didn’t notice, but he scrambled and he kinda held the ball out. It looked like he did it for no reason, and I was like, “What is he doing?” I asked him about it on the sideline and he said he does it because the end that’s rushing is trying to get the ball away from him. It looked as cool as s— on the field. I was like, “This guy’s feeling himself out here.” It was funny because it was the third play of his first game ever. That comfortability.

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Wide receiver DeAndre Carter: If you sit down and talk to him, his level of competitiveness is going to separate him from a lot of other guys. He wants to win and he wants to win above anything else. And not saying that it surprises me, but coming from a guy that’s always been in the spotlight, that has a lot of stuff going on off the field … for him to always have “winning football games” as the No. 1 thing that’s on his mind, I think that’s a little different or unique for someone in his position.

Linebacker Jack Sanborn: (It’s) just understanding … how defensive guys are kind of playing in each coverage and what stresses us out, and just being able to almost move us with his eyes. Like he did it early on in OTAs. He made me, for example, go one way and then hit a dig right behind me. Especially for a rookie coming out, it’s tough to do.

The leader

On Monday, Williams officially became one of Bears’ eight captains for this season. His selection wasn’t too surprising given the position he plays and the overall importance of it. But his selection was the result of a players’ vote. 

Those who have watched Williams closely started to see his leadership abilities emerge weeks ago through his interactions with his teammates on the field during practices.

Eberflus: I could see him being comfortable in the offense to be able to now step out on what he’s supposed to do and be able to step out and help others do their job. I think that’s what you do as a quarterback. You are a multiplier. You are an enhancer of other people, and that’s what he’s done. I started to see him doing that … probably in Week 2 of training camp, which was really cool, having him talk to Cole, having him talk to DJ, Keenan, Rome, (running back D’Andre) Swift, all those guys that he’s throwing the ball to and working with those guys to make it better. And that to me was so impressive. But he didn’t do it right away. He waited until he was comfortable and he knew what he was doing and then he started to feel the offense and understand where things are and how things run. And then he was able to interject and take a leadership role.

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)