The number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams was drafted by the Chicago Bears, and he is now two games into his NFL career. So far, Williams has struggled a bit. The Bears are 1-1, but Williams hasn't thrown a touchdown pass yet, and their one win came in a game where the offense scored zero touchdowns. Things have been tough, but USC football head coach Lincoln Riley thinks that Williams will be fine.
Caleb Williams spent his entire college career with Lincoln Riley. Williams started his career at Oklahoma, but he transferred to the USC football team when Riley took the head coaching job there. Riley recently appeared on The Herd with Colin Howerd to discuss Williams' struggles, and he thinks he needs to go back to the basics right now.
“I think you got to go back to the basics,” Riley said on the show. “And I think a lot of times the answers that you're looking for, you know as a player, are right there. And sometimes when you get into it, get into competitive situations, especially a new league, a new offense, new coaches around you, new supporting cast, there's going to be some growing things, right?”
The NFL is a big adjustment for Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams had a ton of hype coming into this season, and rightfully so. He was the number one pick in the draft and he won the Heisman trophy when he played for the USC football team. Still, adjusting to the NFL from college takes time. Lincoln Riley knows that.
“You're going to go through some tough moments, but you got to continue to go back to the basics, continue to improve, continue to lead,” Riley continued. “And the most importantly, you can't let it affect your attitude, your mentality, the way you play, the way you practice. You just got to keep growing.”
Williams has definitely experienced some tough moments, and he has only been in the league for two weeks. However, he is only going to go up from here, and Riley is confident that he will continue to grow with more experience in the NFL.
“And Caleb [Williams] will, he's a fighter,” Riley said. “He's going to continue to learn and grow. And as painful as some of these, you know, tough moments have been, you know, early in the season, those are all opportunities to learn and grow. He's going to become the player that we all know he can be in that league. He's going to have to learn it progress from them and I believe he will.”
So far through two games, Caleb Williams is 37-66 through the air for 267 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. In college, we didn't see Williams have performances like the ones he has had so far this season. However, life in the NFL is much different than it is in college. Williams should be able to progress as he continues to get more experience in the league.
Williams and the Bears will be back in action this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The two teams will kick off at 1:00 ET/noon CT on Sunday from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Colts are favored by one point.
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