Caleb Williams Shared Two-Word Message From Lincoln Riley Amid Rookie Struggles

Williams shared words of encouragement from his old coach as the Bears stumble through 2024.

Williams was coached by Riley in college / Abigail Dollins / USA TODAY NETWORK

Caleb Williams's rookie season hasn't gone according to plan on multiple levels and there is a good chance things will get worse as the second half of the year marches on. Williams has been sacked 38 times and suffered from the sideline as the Chicago Bears have suffered multiple gut-wrenching, last-second, easily preventable losses. This week was especially tough as Williams apologized to the team after offensive coordinator Shane Waldron got fired, only for Chicago to lose on a blocked field goal attempt as time expired against the Green Bay Packers.

Speaking to media after another devastating defeat, Williams revealed his old coach, Lincoln Riley, had called him to discuss his early-career turmoil earlier in the week. The rookie quarterback went on to share the two-word message Rilely classily gave his former protégé to help him through said difficulties, a message he gave Williams back in his first year of college: Keep going.

"It's something that he told me my freshman year when I wasn't in a position I wanted to be in, which was I wasn't starting at the time," Williams said, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "He told me to keep going. At that time, I didn't necessarily know what those two words meant. I wanted to hear a little bit more than that, and that's what he told me. I use those words to this day. That's when I got the starting point, kept working, kept going. That's all I can do. That's all we can do is keep going, keep our head down and find ways to win. We're going to keep doing that."

Williams started his collegiate career at Oklahoma and backed up Spencer Rattler to begin his first season, which is the situation he refers to above. Williams clearly kept going and ended up taking over for Rattler in Norman before following Riley to USC. Their partnership proved fruitful enough that Williams was picked first in the 2024 NFL draft.

Williams's Bears are 4–6 entering Week 12 and will host the Minnesota Vikings in an attempt to halt their four-game losing streak.

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