No. 1 QB Caleb Williams on Secret Sauce, Working on His 'Tom Brady'
Caleb Williams is the top quarterback prospect in the 2021 class with scholarship offers from elite programs coast to coast. He has agreed to give Sports Illustrated exclusive access into his world by chronicling everything from his experience as a high profile recruit to his home life and preparation for his senior season. This is 'All on the Line.'
What's up?
For all the people who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a wonderful Easter. For those people that don't, I hope it was a wonderful day.
Hopefully everybody is safe and healthy.
We're still in our workout plan. I'm getting to the end of my spring break before I have to get back to online classes. It was a two-week spring break, which is always nice, since it's just a break from school for me. It's normally how it is year-round because football is always here. It was my last day of me being on break and it was a solid break even though I wasn't able to get out much, see my friends and hang out with my friends.
I was able to get on a really solid workout plan. Especially over these few weeks.
This week I started off with the pool workout session again. It's more of an explosive workout, just building me up as we make the workouts tougher each week. After that day, I had a hot yoga workout with Kendra Blackett-Dibinga. It's about 104-plus (degrees) inside of the work room, which is very difficult.
Very difficult.
It's not really difficult on your body, it's more difficult mentally. Just being inside of a room that's 105 degrees and trying to focus on yourself, on your body. I really do believe that it helps me a lot, not just with my flexibility. It helps me out mentally, it builds a little more toughness when you're sitting in there for an hour or an hour and 30 minutes just focused on yourself.
You're not focusing on anything else. Just you and your stretching. It builds toughness other than the flexibility. That was my Tuesday. Wednesday, I did 150 push ups, 100 sit ups and rode the Peloton for 30 minutes. Thursday was another hot yoga session, just the same thing. Bettering myself and my mental state.
Friday, I threw with one of my really good friends, Jalen McCain. He's always been my workout partner with the pool workouts and things like that. He's always working with me, bettering ourselves with each other. On Friday I was focusing on really slowing myself down and not being athletic.
Trying to be Tom Brady, that's what I've been focused on lately. He's not that athletic but he plays the game at a different speed than everybody else and he knows what he's doing. So it's a focus on not being as athletic and using it when I need to. I was also working on other things, like when you're in distress and you need to get the ball out, so you do it awkwardly.
Tom Brady
© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Reading things under pressure, things like that, is what I was working on with Jalen and my QB coach - Coach (Chris) Baucia. He would say when I did things wrong and we would do it again, things like that. We came in with a direct plan, slowing myself down but also working on routes and throws when I'm in distress.
Saturday I took a day off other than the Peloton and my push ups and sit ups. Sunday was about family time, getting in some games, things like that.
"This has been different from any other Easter we've had," Carl Williams, Caleb's father, said. "Caleb and I have been literally in the house all day. Mom cooked breakfast and other than that it was kind of a lazy day. Did church online and have just been here. Games and Netflix, you know [laughing]?
"Normally we might have been at the church, at the gym, or both. Go to my mom's house, honey baked ham, all of that. This is like being rooted in the pocket, we are rooted in the apartment."
Me and Coach (Lincoln) Riley got on another call Sunday. We just talked about the day and the pandemic that we're all going through. We obviously also talked ball. He brought up a few clips and I wrote a few things down. I actually sent some of those things to my offensive coordinator because as you know Coach Riley is a great offensive mind so why not implement the things I've learned.
We talked about ball and a few route concepts. We just chopped it up. These colleges that I've been to, we always ask the question of -- what can I get better at doing? On the most recent visit, Coach Riley told me to be more rooted in the pocket. Obviously this year I was way more athletic than I had been in the past couple years playing at Gonzaga.
With that information from Coach Riley, especially him being who he is and what he's done in the past with his quarterbacks, I take that into account and I've been working on that. Having that Tom Brady style in the pocket, with him being so rooted in the pocket. He's super smart and on top of his game since he can't really do those other things that Russell (Wilson), Deshaun Watson and those more athletic quarterbacks can.
All of my top schools were in contact this weekend wishing me a Happy Easter and things like that. Just checking in.
School starts this week coming up but we're still gonna be working. I hope everybody stays healthy, stays strong.
Make sure you wash your hands.
All the recruits that follow and read these posts, make sure you DM me or text me if you have my number. We need to build a bond and make sure we all go to the same college and ball out.
Signing out, Caleb Williams: All on the Line.
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Twitter: @CALEBcsw
Instagram: ayeeecaleb
* All photos and video courtesy of Caleb Williams