Caleb Williams pushes back against claim he's never overcome adversity

Michael Conroy/AP

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears' likely No.1 overall draft pick, pushed back Tuesday against a claim that he’s never had to overcome adversity.

Writing on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Williams posted a video of analyst Greg McElroy telling the “This is Football” podcast that Williams “has never experienced adversity … as far as how he was received and portrayed as the next, best guy.” McIlroy questioned his motivation — “I wonder, is there a sense of entitlement?” he asked — when comparing Williams to Patrick Mahomes, who is still driven by the fact he was picked 10^th in 2017.

Williams responded by saying he was going to take the analyst “back to school” because “I’m bored” right now. He posted the definition of adversity and listed times in which he was faced with it: when he didn’t start to begin his freshman year at Oklahoma, when he hurt his hamstring in the first quarter of the 2022 Pac-12 title game and when he went 7-5 with USC last season.

McElroy, a former national championship-winning quarterback at Alabama, said he still believed Bears general manager Ryan Poles needed to take Williams first overall because of his high ceiling.

“In the event in which you’ve passed on him and he goes on to become the next Mahomes, you’re dead,” he said.

The Bears are expected to pick Williams, who visited Halas Hall last week, first overall later this month.