Bears coaches offer their first impressions of Caleb Williams: ‘Super competitive’

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears passing game coordinator Thomas Brown probably met Caleb Williams first.

As a college running backs coach, Brown went to visit MarShawn Lloyd, then a standout at DeMatha Catholic High in Maryland.

“Someone mentioned a quarterback’s doing pretty good at a school down the road,” Brown said at Bears rookie minicamp Saturday. “I hopped in my car and drove over and just laid eyes on him for a quick second.”

Brown knew he was heading to the NFL soon but still wanted to take a look. He had a brief introduction to Williams.

“His stature was at a high level,” he said. “The praise he got around the building was the person. Being a great player is one thing. Being able to have the character that goes with it is a whole different level.”

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Williams finished his first two practices as a Bear this past weekend, and we got a chance to hear from the coaches who will be working with him closely — Brown, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph.

Waldron couldn’t pick one highlight from Williams’ USC career that resonated most, but there was a game that stuck with him — a 38-20 loss to UCLA in Williams’ final appearance as a Trojan.

“The way that he finished the UCLA game in a way that he stayed competing no matter what the outcome was going to be, he made some good throws, throws on the move to finish the game out there,” he said. “To me, you see the competitor, the championship mindset where he’s going to be at his best, no matter the situation around him, and keep playing.”

Williams passed for 384 yards in the loss. Down 25 late in the fourth quarter, Williams engineered an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, including two fourth-down conversions.

“Everyone is good in the NFL,” Waldron said. “Every week, you’re playing against great people on defense, great schemes, and so that ability, regardless of what’s going on with the external noise or the situation in a game, play every play as its own individual snap. He demonstrated that. Take away all the highlight reels. That was a good moment.”

General manager Ryan Poles emphasized at the start that the Bears’ approach to the pre-draft process would focus on getting to know “the person.” Once Waldron was hired, he became part of the information gathering. He spent time with Williams to learn what he couldn’t see on film.

“He’s an unbelievable human being,” he said. “Football’s part of what makes him special, but there’s a lot more outside that that makes him special as well. Right from the jump you get that initial meeting with someone — ‘All right, this guy’s a pretty cool guy. We can move forward right now.’”

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When Brown joined the Bears contingent at USC’s pro day, he already knew about the athletic ability and “off-platform throws.” He wanted to pick the brains of Williams’ teammates and coaches.

“It’s kind of hard to tell because everyone is always on their best behavior, but when you pull guys aside and you ask the coaches, you ask the trainers, you ask the assistants around the building: How is he outside of the limelight? Everybody had the same thing to say about him,” Brown said. “The connection piece. Pulls everyone together. But just the overall demeanor. He’s upbeat, super competitive, which I love. You got to have that competitive spirit. But he’s a grinder at the same time.”

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That competitive spirit already came out during rookie camp.

“On the field from (Saturday) doing individual drills and competing with Austin (Reed). They had a little throwing competition and juices kind of getting going there a little bit,” Brown said. “It was good to see. We’ll have some stuff in the quarterback room to amp up the stakes going forward.”

Waldron’s strongest impression of Williams’ physical ability came down to the most basic prerequisite of being a quarterback.

“His arm talent and his ability to put the ball where it needs to be,” he said. “That’s evident from day one. Now it’s about keeping the learning and progressing and keep moving forward with our system. The arm talent with what he’s able to do is fun to watch.”

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In his four years on the Seattle Seahawks staff, and the past two as the assistant quarterbacks coach, Joseph worked with veterans — Russell Wilson, Geno Smith and Drew Lock. This is his first experience with a rookie, so it’s a little harder for him to compare Williams to other young QBs, but he knows the Bears have someone different.

“I can tell you this here, for me to see where he’s at now, it’s impressive,” he said. “And to see his physical traits, it’s unbelievable.”

A big emphasis of rookie minicamp is seeing how the players take what they learn in the meeting rooms to the field. Williams has already shown Joseph that he’s doing his homework.

“He’s one of those guys who wants to know why,” Joseph said. “You put something in, you put a play in, you talk about it, you give him the progressions, whether it’s run or pass, like he wants to know why. Last night, probably about 10:30 or 11 o’clock, he texts me, ‘Hey, why are we doing this here? Why are we blocking it like that? Isn’t that his guy to block?’

“He just wants to know. He wants to know those answers. When you have a guy like that, he’s hungry for it and you love to know that because now he becomes a coach on the field for you.”

(Photo of Caleb Williams and Shane Waldron: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)