On Friday, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus defended his rookie quarterback’s ability to handle the numerous cameras that will be visible this summer when HBO’s Hard Knocks features the team. Eberflus didn’t have the worry that cornerback Jaylen Johnson had expressed about Williams before the draft.
Jaylon Johnson was worried about ‘Hollywood” in the locker room
During an interview in March with Kay Adams on Up And Adams, Johnson said Williams needed to rein in his “Hollywood” flair when he entered the Bears locker room.
“You just humble yourself coming in the building,” Johnson said. “You can’t bring that Hollywood stuff into the building, especially not with guys who have played this game at a high level for consecutive years in the league. It’s just something that guys like myself, guys like Tremaine [Edmunds], T.J. [Edwards], Keenan Allen, we’re gonna see through that. What you did in college, the Hollywood stuff, it’s like nah, you gotta prove yourself.”
(In fairness, Johnson tried to distance himself from those comments and reached out to Williams after the Bears drafted him.)
HBO doesn’t need Williams to play a snap in the regular season before they want to cash in on the former USC Heisman winner. They know NFL audiences are intrigued by the “Hollywood” star who makes a show whenever he is in front of a camera.
The Bears know Williams will make good television.
The Chicago Bears believe Caleb Williams can handle Hard Knocks
A reporter asked Eberflus if Williams is uniquely suited for Hard Knocks. Eberflus said Williams is.
“Yeah, I do. I do. I really do,” Eberflus said. “That’s a very good point, and I do think he’s suited for that because he’s comfortable in his own skin. He knows who he is. Again, he’s been out there for several years in terms of in the media, in the focus, the Heisman winner, all those things that he’s done. And he’ll be good.”
The Bears need to prepare for many more lights and cameras
Not all players on the team are ready for Hard Knocks. Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze said he’d feel better without the show following the Bears during training camp.
It doesn’t matter what Odunze or Johnson thinks now that Williams is in Chicago. The team needs to prepare to find comfort in the limelight. With Williams, these are the Hollywood Bears.
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