Caleb Williams declared as Bears QB1 before rookie minicamp

Chicago’s Lake Forest — Caleb Williams will start for the Bears this Friday in rookie minicamp, according to Bears coach Matt Eberflus.

“No talk,” Eberflus declared. “He’s the starter.”

Eberflus’ statement validated the Bears’ decision, which was certain after they selected the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner with the first overall pick last month. Chicago was the lone team Williams visited prior to the draft, and he was the only quarterback the Bears hosted on a top-30 visit. Before the former USC quarterback’s pro day in Los Angeles, and once again during Williams’ visit to Halas Hall in early April, Bears coaches started teaching him their offense.

Before taking the field for this weekend’s minicamp, Williams also made the decision to study with his own quarterback coach, Will Hewlett, on the principles of the Bears’ scheme.

“You always want to get ahead if you can, and so with those things that they gave me, I would take it to my QB trainer and we would use the cadence, we would use the drops, we would use all those things so that’s not something that’s on my mind throughout the process of when I actually got here,” Williams explained.

The quarterback stated that the vocabulary, route tree, cadence, and how to function both in and out of the huddle were among the fundamentals of the offense that the Bears taught Williams and Hewlett, according to Eberflus.

Williams now feels confident enough to assist others in learning the offense during the rookie minicamp thanks to his head start.

Williams remarked, “I feel pretty good right now.” “We’re going to be out here today, of course, and there will undoubtedly be a few hiccups and such. We’re working to fix those as quickly as we can. However, those things must develop and advance throughout time—years, months, and the like. I’m ecstatic, but I feel okay right now.”

In the months leading up to training camp, Eberflus stated that the Bears have a number of expectations for Williams.

“Full understanding of the concepts: run, pass, checks and his fundamentals,” remarked Eberflus. “The foundational elements we have set up for him, which, although his fundamentals are excellent, there are certain areas we would like him to focus on and get better at.”