Debunking another Caleb Williams myth

INDIANAPOLIS — The latest Caleb Williams myth was debunked Wednesday when the USC quarterback said he’d be willing to play for the Bears were they to draft him first overall.

“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” Williams told ESPN in a phone interview. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense.”

He even name-dropped Michael Jordan, Walter Payton and deep-dish pizza.

“The Bears have the last say,” Williams said. “Regardless of how I feel, I’m not pushing an agenda of, ‘Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don’t want to go.’ I’m excited for whatever comes.”

That it was ever a question is the result of offseason rumors that at times bordered on the ridiculous. One day after host Colin Cowherd said Williams’ camp didn’t want to go to Chicago — a claim he’d later retract —the quarterback posted an Instagram picture of himself as a small child wearing a T-shirt with a bear on it. Others wondered whether Williams’ father Carl would ask for a share of team ownership — which is against league rules. Some doubted Williams would declare for the draft at all when he waited until the deadline day to make his announcement.

Williams does not have an agent, something that makes communication between teams and his camp different. Because Williams is all-but-locked into being the No. 1 overall pick, though, he saves himself money by foregoing one.

“I do think there’s a benefit to having an agent — they’re experienced and they’ve gone through the process,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles told the Sun-Times this week. “But I also understand [not having one] from a business perspective.”

Williams — who will not throw this week — arrived in Indianapolis on Wednesday and was set to have a 20-minute meeting with the Bears at night.

Some Bears scouts had met Williams before, but Poles had not. Williams was also slated to meet with the Commanders — who are his hometown team and hold the second pick — as well as the Giants (No. 6), Falcons (No. 8), Jets (No. 10) and Vikings (No. 11), per NFL Network.

“The [meeting] here really is to get a feel of a player’s personality,” Poles said.

They already know about his skillset. Another myth that was wiped out Wednesday was that Williams’ struggles last year — the Trojans went 8-5 — dented his draft stock.

UCLA, Washington and Notre Dame all beat USC last year — by a combined 56 points — yet defenders from all three schools said they were wowed by Williams.

When USC traveled to Notre Dame, the Irish tried to mask their defense until the last second so the Trojans couldn’t glance at their own sideline for audibles. That worked better than the year prior, when USC beat Notre Dame by 11 and Williams eventually won the Heisman Trophy.

“What was so dangerous about him was his ability to extend plays,” Notre Dame linebacker J.D. Bertrand said. “Two years ago you’d see that — he made a four-second play into an eight-second play.”

Williams did that against Washington, using a slow-motion spin move early in the game. Huskies edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui remembers running off the field after the first drive and telling teammate Bralen Trice to look at the size of the quarterback’s legs.

“Did you see his legs, bro?” Tupuola-Fetui said. “He’s massive. He’s built like a bulldog.”

Now it’s the Bears’ turn to see him up close.

“He can make every throw on the field, so there’s not too much slowing him down,” said UCLA defensive lineman Gabriel Murphy, who admittedly hated to credit a rival. “It’s just trying to apply pressure …

“He’s the best quarterback I played in college … You can’t deny talent.”