Caleb Williams facts for kids
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Williams with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021
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| No. 18 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | November 18, 2001 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) | ||||||||||||
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| NFL Draft: | 2024 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Caleb Sequan Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American professional football player. He is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL). Before joining the NFL, he played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and the USC Trojans. In 2022, he won the Heisman Trophy, which is a major award for college football players. He was chosen as the very first player in the 2024 NFL draft by the Bears.
Contents
Early Life and High School Football
Caleb Williams was born in Washington, D.C. on November 18, 2001. He went to Gonzaga College High School and played high school football there.
High School Achievements
In 2018, as a sophomore, Caleb became well-known. He led Gonzaga to win the WCAC Championship with a game-winning "Hail Mary" pass. This is a long, desperate pass thrown at the end of a game. He was named the Washington Post All-Metropolitan 1st team player. He also won the Washington, D.C. Gatorade Football Player of the Year award. That year, he threw for 2,624 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also ran for 394 yards and 10 touchdowns.
As a junior in 2019, he was again named to the Washington Post All-Metropolitan 1st team. He passed for 1,770 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also rushed for 838 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2020, his senior season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caleb was considered the best quarterback prospect in his class. He decided to play college football at the University of Oklahoma.
College Football Career
Playing for Oklahoma
Caleb started his first year at the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021. He was the backup quarterback at first. But during a big rivalry game against the Texas Longhorns, he took over as the starting quarterback. Oklahoma was losing 35–17 when Caleb entered the game. He led the Sooners to an amazing 55–48 victory. In that game, he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 88 yards and one touchdown.
The next week, Caleb made his first start against Texas Christian University. He threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 66 yards and another touchdown. Oklahoma won that game 52–31. By the end of his freshman year, Caleb had 21 passing touchdowns and six rushing touchdowns. He played in seven games for the Sooners.
Playing for USC
Transferring to USC
On January 3, 2022, Caleb decided to transfer to another college. On February 1, he announced he would play for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. This reunited him with his former coach, Lincoln Riley, who had moved to USC. Caleb was named the starting quarterback for USC on August 25. He was also chosen as a team captain on August 31.
The 2022 Season
In his first game for USC against Rice, Caleb played very well. He completed 19 out of 22 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. USC won the game 66–14. Caleb became the AP College Football Player of the Year. He was the first USC player to win this award since 2005. He also won the 2022 Heisman Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding player in college football. His 42 passing touchdowns that season were the most in the NCAA.
The 2023 Season
In 2023, Caleb and the Trojans finished the regular season with seven wins and five losses. He threw for 3,333 yards and 31 passing touchdowns. He also had 11 rushing touchdowns. After this season, he decided to enter the 2024 NFL draft. He finished his college career with nearly 10,000 passing yards and 120 total touchdowns.
As a special tradition for Heisman winners at USC, Caleb's jersey number 13 was retired in 2024. This means no other player at USC will wear that number again.
Professional Football Career
Joining the NFL
Caleb Williams was expected to be one of the first players chosen in the 2024 NFL draft. Many experts believed he was the best quarterback in his draft class. People praised his ability to make plays even when things didn't go as planned. Some compared his playing style to other famous quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson.
The Chicago Bears chose Caleb as the first overall pick in the draft. The Bears got this top pick from a trade with the Carolina Panthers the year before. Caleb was one of six quarterbacks chosen in the first round. This tied a record from the 1983 NFL draft for the most quarterbacks picked early. Caleb wore number 13 in college, but that number was already taken by Keenan Allen on the Bears. So, Caleb chose to wear number 18, which was his high school number. His jersey sales after the draft broke a record for Fanatics.
The 2024 Season: A Rookie Year
Caleb was named the Bears' starting quarterback in May 2024. He signed his first NFL contract on July 17. It was a four-year deal worth $39.4 million.
Caleb was the first quarterback picked first overall to win his first NFL game since 2002. The Bears beat the Tennessee Titans 24–17. In week 3, Caleb threw his first two career touchdowns. He also set a Bears' rookie record with 363 passing yards in a game. This happened in a 21–16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
After a tough start, Caleb led the Bears to wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers. Against Carolina, he threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. This made him the first Bears rookie quarterback with multiple games over 300 yards. In week 6, playing in London, Caleb threw four touchdown passes. The Bears won 35–16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This gave Chicago their first three-game winning streak since 2020.
Later in the season, the Bears faced some challenges. In week 8, they lost to the Washington Commanders on a last-second "Hail Mary" pass. The team then had two more losses. In week 12, Caleb ended a four-game streak without a touchdown pass. He threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He also set the Bears' rookie passing yards record in that game. On Thanksgiving, Caleb threw three touchdowns. He also set a rookie record for passes without an interception. However, the Bears lost their sixth straight game to the Detroit Lions. This led to the team's head coach being fired.
Caleb led a game-winning drive in the final game of the season. This ended the Bears' ten-game losing streak. It also broke their 11-game losing streak against the Green Bay Packers. This win prevented Caleb from tying a record for the most consecutive losses by a first-overall rookie quarterback.
Caleb finished his first NFL season with several Bears rookie passing records. These included records for completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes. He was also the first Bears quarterback to start every game in a season since 2009. He was sacked 68 times, which was a team record and the third most in NFL history. His streak of 354 passes without an interception was the longest by a rookie. It was also the fourth longest for any NFL passer. This streak lasted for a team- and NFL rookie-record nine games.
Records and Achievements
Caleb Williams has set several impressive records in his young career.
NFL Records
- Most consecutive passing attempts without an interception by a rookie: 354 (in 2024)
Chicago Bears Franchise Records
- Most completions in a single season by a rookie: 351 (2024)
- Most passing attempts in a single season by a rookie: 562 (2024)
- Most passing yards in a single season by a rookie: 3,541 (2024)
- Most passing touchdowns in a single season by a rookie: 20 (2024)
- Highest passer rating in a single season by a rookie: 87.8 (2024)
- Most sacks taken in a single season by a rookie: 68 (2024)
- Most rushing yards in a single season by a rookie quarterback: 489 (2024)
- Most passing yards in a single game by a rookie: 363 (September 22, 2024, vs. Indianapolis Colts)
- Most games with 300+ passing yards in a single season: 4 (2024; tied with other Bears players)
- Most games with 300+ passing yards and 2+ passing touchdowns in a single season: 4 (2024; tied with another Bears player)
- First rookie quarterback with multiple games of 300+ passing yards (2024)
- First rookie quarterback with the best touchdown to interception ratio: 3.33:1 (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Caleb Williams (fútbol americano) para niños
