Matt Eberflus: Caleb Williams 'suited' to handle 'Hard Knocks' spotlight

For the last four years, Caleb Williams has been squarely in the spotlight. The former five-star recruit generated plenty of excitement at Oklahoma before winning the Heisman Trophy at USC and, ultimately, becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

That excitement is going to keep growing ahead of his rookie season with the Chicago Bears, especially since his first training camp will have cameras everywhere. The NFL selected the Bears for this year’s edition of “Hard Knocks” after an exciting offseason, meaning HBO will give fans an all-access pass to Williams’ first professional training camp.

After the news came out, Matt Eberflus sounded more than confident Williams can handle it all considering everything he did in college – both on and off the field.

“I do,” Eberflus said. “I really do. … And I do think he’s suited for that because he’s comfortable in his own skin.

“He knows who he is and he’s been out there for several years in terms of in the media, in the focus, Heisman winner. All those things that he’s done. He’ll be good.”

Williams was just one of the notable additions for the Bears. They also drafted wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick and brought in Keenan Allen via trade to join a room with D.J. Moore after his 1,000-yard season. D’Andre Swift is also in the mix as general manager Ryan Poles added playmakers with new coordinator Shane Waldron coming in.

It seemed like the Bears were trending to get the “Hard Knocks” nod for some time even despite previous comments from chairman George McCaskey. Now, it’s happening, with the first episode dropping Aug. 6.

More on Caleb Williams’ NIL success at USC

For the last couple years, Williams was one of the faces of college football. He put together a special first season at USC in 2022 when he threw for 4,537 yards, ran for 382 yards and totaled 50 touchdowns – 40 in the air and 10 on the ground – to win the Heisman.

That also led to plenty of off-field ventures through NIL deals.

Throughout the 2023 season, fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy, Williams developed an impressive portfolio. With an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.7 million at the time his college career ended, he secured high-profile agreements with Dr Pepper and Wendy’s to appear in commercials which became staples of college football Saturdays.

Williams also helped his teammates through his NIL ventures, including a deal with Postmates which featured the entire USC offensive line. He also gave members of the USC women’s basketball team headphones as part of his agreement with Beats by Dre.

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

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