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Caleb Williams was selected by the Chicago Bears as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been a popular name throughout the entire offseason. Coming off his breakout sophomore season, he has skyrocketed to stardom. Williams was named the Madden 27 cover athlete and has been on somewhat of a media tour since. After appearing and announcing the cover on the New Heights Podcast, Williams appeared in a trailer with actor Vince Vaughn, and he was just a guest on Barstool’s Pardon My Take.

Among the notable topics discussed during the interview, Williams gave a rather candid answer about dealing with haters. 

One of the hosts, Big Cat, praised Williams for acknowledging the haters in the first place. “You can’t not see them,” Williams said. “All the people that say that [they don’t] are liars.”

Big Cat then followed up, asking whether Williams tracks the announcers who criticize him in the media or even on game broadcasts. 

“Yeah, for sure, for sure,” Williams admitted. “Not going to say any names on here, but there are times where I go back, and I listen…yeah, there’s reporters and analysts or whatever you want to call them that I remember. Sometimes I shake their hand a little bit harder when I see them in person.”

Bears Caleb Williams Dispels Cold-Weather Narrative

GettyCaleb Williams grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and played college football in Oklahoma and California.

Among the narratives tossed Williams’ way from haters was regarding his ability or desire to play in Chicago because of the weather. Williams dispelled his cold-weather distaste last season with his play and with his words on PMT. 

When asked about playing games, entering the negative degree scale, Williams stated, “I love it. I love playing in the cold. I actually love the cold more than any other weather…My temperature I run hot, and so being able to play in the cold, you know, you throw in a layer or two and you know you go out there and play. And once you’re playing, you’re warm, and so whenever it’s cold..I feel that I always tend to play better…I get better at the end of the year…That’s always been my mindset.”

Caleb Williams Meets With Ben Johnson Every Day

Williams certainly heated up towards the end of the season as he got more comfortable within Ben Johnson’s system.

When discussing how often he meets with Johnson to build that comfort level, Williams revealed, “During the season, we meet every day.” 

When asked about the duration of their individual sessions, Williams responded, “They could be from hour thirty to two hours and thirty at the end of the night.” Williams then acknowledged that it’s not necessarily normal for every head coach to meet with their quarterback that often for that duration, but that he appreciates it because he’s learning so much. “Anything he says, you know, you go out there, and you do. You practice it, you work on it, you know it’s on your conscience. You’re conscious of it, and you go out there and rep them. You get these reps in, and it pays off…You know those meetings are really important to me.” 

Williams is clearly driven to do whatever it takes to win. His connection with Johnson was the leading factor in the Bears’ success last season, and it will continue to be the driving force of a Super Bowl run.