Caleb Williams responds to notion that he has never faced adversity
The draft can't get here soon enough.
It's a given that Caleb Williams will be the first overall pick. It has been, for months. That hasn't stopped folks from looking for anything they can to knock him, from painted nails to a pink phone to the notion from ESPN's Greg McElroy that Williams has never faced adversity.
McElroy shared that take with Kevin Clark, on ESPN's This Is Football podcast.
In a nutshell, McElroy wonders whether Williams has a chip on his shoulder, something that is rooted in being doubted and/or not having things go his way.
Williams opted to respond to McElroy on X, first by defining adversity as "[a] state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune" and by listing specific examples (in Williams's view) of adversity: "Y1. Didn’t start freshman year. Y2. Popped hammy championship game 1st Q. Lost bc of my hammy. Y3. 7-5 my last year of college ball."
Some would say that not starting as a freshman doesn't really count as adversity. Some also would say that Williams gains nothing by taking on McElroy.
Williams is the No. 1 pick. It's happening. Nothing Greg McElroy says is going to change that.
The fact that Williams has no agent (who could, for example, call McElroy and try to set him straight) forces Williams to handle it himself. Still, he arguably should have just ignored it. By responding to it, he amplified it.
But at least Williams has now faced some adversity, even if it flows from the question of whether he ever faced adversity. And he can also have a chip on his shoulder, over the question of whether people think he doesn't have a chip on his shoulder.
Can we just start the draft tonight?
