More than once during the second half of the 2023 college football regular season, Caleb Williams“Mentality has been a topic of discussion between 2024 NFL Draft spectators. Is this something to worry about as he makes the jump to the professional level?
Caleb Williams refuses to speak to media after UCLA loss
The USC Trojans lost 38-20 to the UCLA Bruins in Week 12 of the college football season. The loss dropped USC to 7-5 on the year, ending Williams’ final regular season slate with the Trojans.
Williams finished the year with 266 completions on 388 attempts (68.6%) for 3,633 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions, along with 142 rushing yards and 11 rushing scores.
With a draft likely on deck, there’s a chance this could be Williams’ final game of his college career. Even if he dresses for a bowl game, he doesn’t have much else to play for.
Despite these facts, Williams refused to speak to the media following his final regular season action at the collegiate level. The move sparked criticism from some observers.
Williams’ decision was first reported by USC reporter Ryan Kartje. The next morning, NFL Insider Ian Rapoport commented on the subject, comparing him to Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow.
In a post on The job of a QB and the face of the franchise.
Rapoport’s comment directly implies that Williams circumvented the duties of franchise QB by refusing to speak at a pivotal moment in his career and his team’s season.
Whether Rapoport’s comment was inspired by conversations with a ulteriorly motivated agent or conversations with NFL scouts, there are implications regardless of one’s opinion.
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The thing is, if someone like Rapoport makes this comment, there’s a good chance that others in the football industry will have these thoughts as well. This comes after Williams drew anger a few weeks ago for crying after a tough loss to Oregon.
Is the criticism of Williams and his mentality justified? And is there a chance this will have an effect on his 2024 NFL Draft stock, with a close challenger for QB1 in Drake Maye?
Should Williams’ ‘off-field concerns’ affect his 2024 NFL Draft stock?
On the surface, the question of Williams’ off-field concerns is simple. Either you think these off-field concerns exist or they don’t.
But when you’re covering the NFL Draft — an event that brings together 32 teams’ distinct prospects and class-wide evaluations — you need to be able to recognize different perspectives and take them into account.
Opinions vary widely on what to think of Williams’ character. Specifically, his tenacity and composure under media pressure have been called into question.
I think Williams’ perceived issues with his toughness and composure under pressure are somewhat exaggerated. All you have to do is watch Williams compete, create on the court and give it her all, to know that the toughness of the competition is not a concern.
I also think that Williams’ avoidance of the media at the end of the season doesn’t deserve massive public criticism or accusation either. But as long as some teams and reviewers feel there may be a problem, it’s not something you can just ignore.
Evaluating QB character is incredibly complex. It’s not just about having competitive strength, confidence and leadership ability. A quarterback can be a good person and a good leader, but he lacks enough other soft skills to turn teams away.
We’ve seen quarterbacks shrink under the NFL spotlight before. The media footprint of a rookie QB’s job in the NFL can harm bystanders who aren’t mentally equipped to cut through the noise, hold themselves accountable and communicate effectively with the press.
That’s not at all to say that Williams isn’t mentally equipped to handle this. His resounding success at the collegiate level is a ringing endorsement in itself. He never had the best team – whether at USC or Oklahoma – but he always played at a high level and kept his teams competitive.
Williams is confident. This is clear when he does interviews. As talented as he is, he has every reason to be confident. But we’ve seen confidence shift when circumstances change at the NFL level, and that mental shift can be difficult to recover from.
When the clock ticks and it’s Williams’ turn to appear before the media after a tough loss, NFL evaluators will want to know if he can avoid controversy, keep the team focused and keep his cool. cold.
These concerns, as irrational and unvalidated as they may be at this point, are real among NFL decision-makers, who are tasked with mitigating risk just as much as acquiring franchise-changing talent. For this reason, they cannot be fired.
The teams competing for the best quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft class can look across the aisle at Maye and see a QB who more accurately exemplifies what he’s looking for in a “face of the franchise” entity.
Whether true or false, things like composure, mental toughness and focus can make the difference for the personnel managers and coaches who will work with these QBs day in and day out.
At the same time, there is no reason to judge Williams’ mental toughness based on a simple decision to refuse media availability. And Williams doesn’t have to be this guy right away. Even if there are hiccups as he adjusts to the NFL spotlight, it’s not a big deal.
Perhaps Williams can improve her ability to manage her more negative emotions and address the media. It’s okay to say that. He is 22 years old. Once he joins an NFL franchise, Williams will have the infrastructure – coaches and veterans – to support his development as a professional.
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Williams doesn’t need to be the media’s stoic manager from day one, because his confidence is a major part of his game. This is Caleb Williams – the QB who can make any game dread defense is possible, and he knows it better than anyone.
If teams meet Williams one-on-one and feel like they can work with him, harness that trust and let him be himself while maintaining accountability, then there’s nothing to worry about. But this is work that teams must do on an individual basis, with exhaustive research and interviews.
Williams has always invited more volatility onto the court than Maye. And some policymakers might also believe it sparks more volatility.
These concerns are real and valid. But the final judgments on Williams’ character, composure and suitability will be made behind closed doors – not on social media.
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