Merril Hoge Doubles Down On Why Caleb Williams Is Not Special

Caleb Williams has received almost universal acclaim from several draft experts this off-season. They believe he is the best quarterback in the 2024 draft class and the easy choice to go #1 overall. However, one person went against the grain this past month. Merril Hoge has covered college football for years, earning notoriety for his quarterback evaluations. Among the most well-known was his declaration Johnny Manziel shouldn’t even go in the first four rounds, let alone the 1st. He also assigned only one 1st round grade to the 2023 class, which went to C.J. Stroud, the reigning Rookie of the Year.

So it was a shock when Hoge stated during Super Bowl media day that he didn’t see anything special after watching Williams. That lit off a firestorm on social media, with many declaring him crazy and others wondering if he’s seeing something others are missing. Finally, the former ESPN analyst had a chance to clarify his comment to Mark Grote on 670 The Score. To his credit, Hoge didn’t backtrack. He held to his stance, instead going into detail on why he said what he said.

Much of the statement stems from Williams’ tendency to lean too heavily on his scrambling ability, which has led to a rather middling presence as a pocket passer. He fears that could come back to bite the young QB in the long run. Championship quarterbacks win from the pocket.

Caleb Williams must succeed where other “running QBs” have failed.

Hoge stated quarterbacks known best for their running ability don’t win titles. Michael Vick didn’t. Randall Cunningham didn’t. Cam Newton didn’t. Lamar Jackson hasn’t. John Elway and Steve Young were known for being running guys but managed to become far better pocket passers as their careers progressed. Go back through NFL history and the vast majority of championship quarterbacks won from the pocket. For all the talk about Patrick Mahomes’ scrambling ability, he learned how to win most games throwing from straight drops.

The good news is Caleb Williams has the necessary traits to make this transition. That is where Hoge offered an olive branch. Two things he also noticed about the USC standout were his solid processing ability and his throwing accuracy, which was described as some of the best the analyst had seen in 40 years. Those traits are essential for a pocket quarterback. This means Williams is capable of making the transition. It comes down to whether he can break the bad habits of taking off and running at every opportunity.

Much of that will depend on whether the Bears give him the necessary coaching were they to take him.