Caleb Williams

Caleb Sequan Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following one season of college football with the Oklahoma Sooners, he played for the USC Trojans and won the 2022 Heisman Trophy after setting single-season school records in passing yards and touchdowns. Williams was selected first overall by the Bears in the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life
Williams was born on November 18, 2001, in Washington, D.C., later attending Gonzaga College High School, where he played high school football. As a sophomore in 2018, he led Gonzaga to a WCAC Championship as the best team in the District, and was named Washington Post All-Metropolitan 1st team and Washington, D.C. Gatorade Football Player of the Year after he passed for 2,624 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and rushed for 394 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a junior in 2019, he was named Washington Post All-Metropolitan 1st team for the second consecutive year after he passed for 1,770 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushed for 838 yards with 18 touchdowns. He was named the Elite 11 finals MVP the following summer. In 2020, his senior season was cancelled due to COVID-19. The highest-rated quarterback prospect of his class, Williams committed to play college football at the University of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma (2021)
Williams entered his true freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021 as the backup to Spencer Rattler, before assuming the role as starting quarterback midway through the Sooners' rivalry game with the Texas Longhorns in the team's sixth game of the season. In that game, Oklahoma was down 35–17 before Williams replaced Rattler and led the Sooners to a 55–48 victory. He finished with 212 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 88 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown. Williams made his first start the following week, against Texas Christian University, and threw for 295 yards, four touchdowns, and rushed for 66 yards and a rushing touchdown as Oklahoma won 52–31. In 7 games he finished his freshman year with 21 passing touchdowns, 6 rushing touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.

USC (2022–2023)
On January 3, 2022, Williams entered the transfer portal, and on February 1, he announced that he had transferred to the University of Southern California to play for the Trojans, reuniting him with head coach Lincoln Riley, who had been the head coach for the Sooners before being hired away by the Trojans the previous November. Williams was named the starter on August 25 and team captain on August 31. In his first start against Rice, he went 19/22 with 249 yards and two touchdowns, as USC won 66–14. He became the AP College Football Player of the Year, USC's first winner since Reggie Bush in 2005, and was named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. His 42 passing touchdowns led the NCAA.

Williams and the Trojans went 7–5 in 2023 during the regular season, throwing for 3,333 yards with 31 passing and 11 rushing touchdowns. He declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the season, finishing his college career throwing for nearly 10,000 yards with 120 total touchdowns.

Professional career
Williams was selected first overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears traded the previous year's first overall selection to the Carolina Panthers to acquire the pick used on Williams. He was one of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying the 1983 draft for the most in NFL history. Williams signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $39.4 million fully guaranteed, on July 17, 2024.