The best player of the 2023 class made his much-anticipated debut against the Tennessee Titans on 8th September. However, he didn’t perform as exceptionally as was expected. Caleb Williams was the backbone of the USC Trojans during the 2023 season. He was rewarded for the same when he got selected by the Chicago Bears as the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. With a newer league and newer opponents to face, Williams was destined to be the next-gen hero of the QBs. But Williams seems to have gotten off to a shaky start. The Chicago Bears managed to secure the win by a score of 24-17. And yet, the feeling of pride is to overcome the fans. His former alma mater’s HC, Lincoln Riley, had bright words for his beloved quarterback and assured everyone that he’ll only get better.

On the 12th September episode of the ‘All Facts No Brakes Podcast’ hosted by Keyshawn Johnson, Lincoln Riley came on to discuss their upcoming game against Michigan and all things related to the Trojans. In one of the segments, Johnson asked Riley his opinion on how Williams performed against the Titans on 8th September.

The HC first admitted to not seeing the game start to finish but rather basing his thoughts on the highlight reel he saw. Furthermore, he added his expectations from Caleb in future games and said, “I know it was a little bit of a tough outing in some ways but that’s that league and you know it as good as anybody. I think for him, there’s no doubt he’s going to make some great plays and I know he made some really important plays at the end of that game for them to win it.”

Thus, Williams didn’t give off the star-studded numbers that were hoped from him, but he still has an entire season of NFL matches to prove his worth. As of now, Williams has spoken up on improving drastically for their next game against the Houston Texans, one of the biggest games for the youngster’s career.

Caleb Williams reflects on his disappointing debut against the Titans

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner was blindsided by the harsh challenges of the NFL. Transitioning from the NCAA to the biggest football stage in the world couldn’t have been easier. Yet, he didn’t perform too poorly either. In the game against Tennesee, Williams completed 14 out of 29 total passes and recorded over 93 yards (no TDs). Though the Bears still won, Williams wasn’t too pleased with himself either, as he explained it in an interview.

Williams spoke on not having the “performance” he wanted to showcase and further added, “Trying to figure it out as fast as possible, making sure we are on the same page, making sure we are handling things that we need to handle. Like I said, all the small things become a lot larger on game day. Making sure we handle those things, myself included. Progressing from there.” Thus, Williams will get to compete against C.J. Stroud in his next, which will be the ultimate challenge of his career, seeing as how he’s often compared to the Texans’ quarterback.