LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears have asked a lot of Caleb Williams since he arrived in April.
At every point so far, Williams has met or exceeded their expectations. So it's no surprise that he arrived at training camp having made the most of his summer break -- one in which the Bears asked him to become proficient in all aspects of the offensive operation.
Williams' growth in the playbook was evident on Day 1 of camp when the Bears had a nearly clean operational day on offense.
“Just the general operation, right," head coach Matt Eberflus said after practice Saturday. "First of all, we gave him a lot during the spring and in the summer same thing -- formation, motion, understanding a concept, run kills, killer to run, killer to pass, alerts. All those things were a couple levels up, and you could see it. How do you see it? You see it in the execution. They’re in and out of the huddle. I think we only had one today where they weren’t, and it was much better.”
Veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen stayed in the same hotel as Williams during the offseason program. The two bonded over card games (Monopoly Deal) and also quizzed each other on the playbook while watching the NBA playoffs.
Allen was pleased with the offense's operation on Saturday, noting how much more confident Williams was calling out plays in the huddle.
"Today was real solid," Allen said of Williams on Saturday. "He called the plays way better than he was at OTAs. He felt confident in the plays and knowing what he was doing. There was no timidness from him today."
Unlike Justin Fields or Mitchell Trubisky in the past, Williams opened his Bears career as the no doubt present and future starting quarterback for a franchise that has been desperately searching for an antidote to its quarterback problems.
That seems to have arrived in the form of Williams.
"I think the beauty of his situation: it’s no doubt here," tight end Cole Kmet said on Friday. "He’s the guy going forward."
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The next 50 days will be vital as the Bears look to properly prepare Williams for his Week 1 debut against the Tennessee Titans.
Williams' mentality and resilience will be key indicators of whether he's ready for the NFL challenge ahead.
"Seeing how he is mentally," cornerback Jaylon Johnson said on Saturday when asked how he'll gauge if Williams is making the necessary strides. "I feel like that’s the biggest thing for a rookie quarterback. Just kind of how he bounces back, having a good day, having a bad day, just kind of seeing his demeanor is something you can see in any human being."
Williams and the Bears arrive at camp with big expectations and hype.
Despite all of that, general manager Ryan Poles has a simple checklist for his new franchise quarterback in Year 1.
"It’s really just to maximize his ability," Poles said on Friday. "I think I want to see just leaning on the talent around him as well. I think it’s got to be comforting to know you don’t have to do everything on your own, which makes it a pretty good situation for a young quarterback.
"There’s going to be adversity, and I just want to see him lean on all of us to get through those moments, and then when you’re clicking and in the zone that those high moments are high and we just continue to learn and continue to get better every single week and every single day.”
Williams arrived at training camp on a different level than when he left. The Bears are excited to see just how far and fast he can rise over the next 50 days and what the ceiling is, if any, on how high he can climb.
