INDIANAPOLIS — More than a dozen questions into his Friday morning news conference, Caleb Williams finally fielded one that sparked a smile.
Washington
It’s QB day at the NFL combine, and all eyes are on Caleb Williams
![It’s QB day at the NFL combine, and all eyes are on Caleb Williams It’s QB day at the NFL combine, and all eyes are on Caleb Williams](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/M44AWCERHMH62CMJ5TRHN7IYAY_size-normalized.jpg&w=1440)
“It’d be really cool to be back there and experience that,” Williams said. “The meeting [with the Commanders] went really well, and everybody was in the room. So, being around everybody … [I got] a taste of how they are, who they are, because everything is new there.”
Intrigue about the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner’s chances of returning home to star for the Commanders grew when the team hired Kliff Kingsbury as its offensive coordinator last month. Last year, Kingsbury was a senior offensive assistant at Southern California, where Williams played two seasons of college ball.
“Kliff and I haven’t talked too much specifically on [Williams],” Commanders General Manager Adam Peters said Tuesday. “We really just talked about quarterback play in general and what he looks for in quarterbacks and how we can find that right fit for him, if that’s what we’re going to do. And certainly that hasn’t been decided yet, by any stretch of the imagination.”
The Commanders’ ability to land Williams, the presumptive No. 1 pick, depends on the Chicago Bears, who hold the draft’s top pick and would probably expect a haul to even consider trading down.
Williams was one of six quarterbacks the Commanders held formal meetings with at the NFL combine this week, along with Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (North Carolina), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix (Washington). Many, if not all, of them are likely to meet with the Commanders again on top-30 visits this spring to the team’s facility for more in-depth interviews.
Those visits are why Williams opted out of throwing or undergoing medical tests at the combine.
“I played 30-something games, I believe,” he said. “Go ahead and watch real, live ball of me and see how I am as a competitor. … I’ll be doing the medical stuff — just not here in Indy. I’ll be doing it at the team interviews. Not 32 teams can draft me. There’s only one of me. So the teams that I go to for my visit, those teams will have the medical [information], and that’ll be it.”
So what are the Commanders looking for in their next quarterback? “You’re looking for the face of your franchise,” Peters said. “… He doesn’t need to be a big rah-rah guy, doesn’t need to be a big colorful guy. But just be a leader and carry yourself the right way. Obviously, all the talent you want, and especially now, if you have a mobile quarterback, that certainly helps, but you have to be able to play the position first.”
Coach Dan Quinn cited mental toughness as a must-have quality, along with the ability to improvise and be able to get out of bad plays.
“There’s not a metric for that,” Quinn said. He added that quarterbacks need to be accurate on deep throws because they key explosive plays.
Throwing downfield will probably be a big part of Kingsbury’s offense. During his four seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ coach, 12.5 percent of the team’s throws traveled for 20-plus air yards downfield, the 10th-highest rate in the NFL.
Over the past two years, Daniels, the former LSU quarterback, had the most efficient deep ball in the nation. He completed 53 percent of his downfield attempts for 27 touchdowns and no interceptions, according to TruMedia.
Daniels said what stood out about his interview with the Commanders was “just how cool the whole staff was.” He name-checked Quinn and Kingsbury.
Maye doesn’t think it would be weird to play with Sam Howell. Maye sat behind Howell at North Carolina in 2021 and considers him a mentor and good friend. They play the board game Catan and the video game PGA Tour together. But Maye brushed off the idea that it’d strain their relationship if Washington were to draft him to replace Howell.
“There’s a lot bigger problems out there in the world than being with one of your best friends in the quarterback room,” he said. “It’s not awkward for us; it’s just business.”
Maye said he has “a lot of connections” to the Commanders. Quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard recruited him in high school, and Kingsbury knows Phil Longo, Maye’s offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022.
McCarthy’s first interview was with the Commanders. “So I was super nervous, I’m not going to lie,” the former Michigan quarterback said. “Sweating a little bit. Coach Quinn was just awesome. I got to talk to Mr. Peters right before the meeting. Just a great vibe.”
Commanders managing partner Josh Harris sat in on all six quarterback interviews. He was there to observe rather than ask questions. When asked what stood out about their interviews with Washington, no quarterback mentioned Harris.
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Washington
Washington vs. Weber State Game Thread
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In roughly 30 minutes, a new era of Husky football kicks off on the Big Ten Network. As noted in the open thread posted earlier, this is your spot to comment on the game and follow along during all of the action with your fellow Husky fans.
We will be extremely loose with the definition of trolling and any offenders will be banned. Also, any comments directed at other posters will be deleted and the offenders may be placed on pre-moderate mode.
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Make sure you didn’t miss our week of scouting the Wildcats.
Weber State Offensive Preview
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Weber State defensive Preview
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Q&A with Wildcats beat reporter Brett Hein of the Standard-Examiner
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The Prediction
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How to Watch
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Go Dawgs!
Washington
Tim Walz has 'gilded his record for political gain,' Washington Post columnist says
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Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for exaggerating elements of his career for “political gain” in an op-ed published on Friday.
“I’m not saying that Walz lies, precisely,” Parker wrote in an op-ed headlined, “Tim Walz isn’t exactly what he seems.” “But he tends to gild his résumé for political gain.”
Walz has been forced to defend a number of controversies that have emerged following Vice President Harris’ announcement that he would be her running mate. In particular, Walz has had to explain his record in the National Guard and his 2006 congressional campaign’s statements on his 1995 drunk driving incident.
‘MASTERFUL SHAPESHIFTER’ WALZ GETS POINTED MESSAGE FROM MINNESOTA VOTERS AT STATE FAIR BOOTH
Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for exaggerating elements of his career for “political gain” in an op-ed published on Friday. (Scott Eisen)
Parker called out Walz’s statements about his 1995 arrest for drunk driving.
“Walz, then a 31-year-old high school teacher, was clocked at 96 mph in a 55-mph zone in Nebraska,” Parker wrote. “He was pulled over by a state trooper, who, upon smelling alcohol, asked Walz to take a field sobriety test, which he failed. Walz then submitted to a hospital for a blood test, which revealed his blood alcohol level to be 0.128, well above the state’s legal limit.”
While that info is verifiable by police records, Walz’s 2006 congressional campaign staff told the press that the candidate was not drinking and actually failed to understand the police officer’s directions because of hearing loss, blaming an injury relating to his time in the National Guard.
Parker also responded to Walz’s interview alongside Harris with CNN.
WALZ ON ABORTION, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS ‘ON PAR WITH CHINA AND NORTH KOREA,’ SAYS PARENTAL RIGHTS ADVOCATE
![Tim Walz speakimg](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/403ad5f5-tim-walz.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Veterans who served alongside Walz in the same battalion when he was in the National Guard have spoken out against his honesty about his service record. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“Morning show softballs may give comfort to the ill-prepared, but they deny viewers the content they need to be better-informed voters,” Parker wrote. “Nothing about the pair’s first (taped) interview Thursday night, with CNN’s Dana Bash, satisfied that imperative. Although Harris handled the interview relatively well, Walz seemed to be a mixed-up mess.”
“He answered none of the four questions he was asked, including whether he had misspoken when he said he had carried a gun ‘in war’ when he never was deployed to a combat zone,” Parker wrote. “A simple ‘yes’ might have sufficed, but instead he sputtered evasive nonsense and, to be rhetorically accurate, gobbledygook.”
Veterans who served alongside Walz in the same battalion when he was in the National Guard have spoken out against his honesty about his service record.
The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Washington
Top prospects for Washington Capitals | NHL.com
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How acquired: Selected with No. 20 pick in 2022 NHL Draft
2023-24 season: Washington (NHL): 21 GP, 2-4-6; Hershey (AHL): 47 GP, 9-16-25
Miroshnichenko adapted well in his first season in North America, getting experience in the NHL and American Hockey League. After playing one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Washington, the 20-year-old native of Ussuriysk, Russia, helped Hershey win its second consecutive Calder Cup championship with 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 20 AHL playoff games.
Miroshnichenko (6-1, 185) will compete for an NHL roster spot in training camp but could return to Hershey to begin the season.
“We would like to see ‘Miro’ become a quality, well-rounded player,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said, “but also someone that can produce in the NHL and can be a potential 25-, 30-goal scorer. So you want to make sure we’re taking the necessary steps to enable that inside of him, and not putting him in a scenario where he’s playing 10 minutes and playing on the fourth line.”
Projected NHL arrival: This season
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