Caleb Williams: Starting now, Ben Johnson pushing me is key

New Bears head coach Ben Johnson has talked about how Caleb Williams' presence at quarterback was a significant part of him taking the Chicago job.

Now that the offseason program has officially begun, Johnson and Williams have officially started the process of getting in sync as play-caller and QB.

To that end, Williams told reporters in his Tuesday press conference that Johnson has already started making sure the young quarterback is on his Ps and Qs.

"[T]oday we had our first quiz as a QB room," Williams said. "And it’s not like a real quiz where you go up and write stuff. It’s just us, we went over a few things yesterday, talked about a few things. And Ben walked in this morning, flung open the door, made a grand entrance, and then we got to work of him testing us about what we talked about yesterday and things like that. Already first day in and challenging us. And everybody loves a challenge in this sport. It’s one of the great things about the sport — every day is a challenge. And today, we got our first one."

Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of last year’s draft, had a challenging rookie season. His first head coach got fired midway through the year, as the Bears finished 5-12. Williams took a league-high 68 sacks, while also completing 62.5 percent of his throws for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The quarterback said that things feel different because he has a year under his belt and because of Johnson’s creativity on offense. But the two men do have to develop their relationship and get on the same page for the pairing to work as well as intended.

“I think us growing together is key,” Williams said. “Starting now, him pushing me, [is] key. I know that and he knows that — him pushing me, because as he says and as he said before, it’s a QB-driven league. So, being able to have that position right on every team, that’s why that position is so important in [the] draft or people trying to get the QB, is — at this day and age of the game — I would say is because it’s so QB driven. And if you have that position right, it helps with a bunch of different things. So, building that bond, him pushing me and us growing together for years to come is going to be fun. I can’t wait.

“And to be able to help me learn more about ball — because he’s super smart, super sharp — and grown and progress in those ways so that Year 4 I’m out there and Ben’s obviously still calling it, Ben’s doing his thing, but it’s a Jared [Goff] thing where Jared’s out there now, he’s calling the whole game in a sense when he’s on the field and he’s been the coach.”

That process will take time, but Williams says he wants to do what’s necessary to get there.

“We can’t be too excited because the work hasn’t been done,” Williams said. “But definitely excited for what’s to come and the future.”