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Star Black quarterbacks are no longer the exception, they are the rule. Throughout the football season, this series will explore the prominence and impact of Black quarterbacks, from grassroots to the NFL.

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CHICAGO – USC coach Lincoln Riley once again made time during Week 1 of the NFL season to watch the first game of a rookie quarterback who won a Heisman Trophy in college and was a No. 1 overall draft pick.

Riley has coached three passers to earn these honors and he enjoys cheering on his boys.

On Sunday afternoon, Riley watched his most recent protégé embark on a new journey, tuning in to quarterback Caleb Williams as he led the Chicago Bears to a 24-17 victory about the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.

Williams, who was selected first overall by Chicago out of USC in the NFL draft in April, didn’t have a promising debut statistically. In fact, he completed just 14 passes on 29 attempts for 93 passing yards — an average of a paltry 3.2 yards per attempt — with no touchdown passes. Williams, a prolific runner in college, managed just 15 yards rushing.

“Obviously we didn’t perform the way we wanted to (offensively). We want to be the most efficient team, myself included. Didn’t perform the way I wanted to,” Williams said. “I missed a couple passes that I normally don’t miss. … I’ve got to get better. I’ll get better.”

But above all, quarterbacks are judged by the success of the group. Despite Williams’s struggling performance in his first start, his teammates picked him up as they overcame a 17-point second-quarter deficit.

Chicago returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and an interception for a touchdown. The Bears committed three total turnovers in the fourth quarter as the Titans collapsed, allowing the Bears to leave the field satisfied despite their struggles on offense as Williams tried to find his way.

“I don’t care about the stats. I feel great (about the win),” Williams said. “The stats aren’t where I want them to be. I want to go out there and perform the best I can. I didn’t do that today. We’re going to get better.”

Regardless of the additional challenges Williams faces as a rookie in the spotlight – and there will be more – he will not give up, Riley said.

“With all the attention and everything that’s been going on for him to be the first choice, and in the city of Chicago, you want someone who’s not going to back down,” Riley told Andscape. “He’s definitely not going to.”

With Williams at the helm, Riley is confident the Bears have many bright days ahead of them. And few know Williams better than the man who coached him in all three of his college seasons.

While coaching at Oklahoma, Riley convinced Williams, previously a prep star at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, to sign with the Sooners. After Riley surprisingly left Oklahoma for the same position at USC in 2022, Williams joined the Trojans shortly after.

Under Riley’s tutelage, Williams won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. The Bears opened the 2024 NFL draft by selecting Williams with the top pick. Now, Williams continues the process of realizing his dream of becoming both an NFL superstar and a Super Bowl champion.

Granted, Riley is biased. That said, he is confident Williams is on track to where he wants to go. How quickly Williams gets there, Riley said, will depend on how quickly he adapts to the rigors of playing the most important position in football at the highest level.

“He’s definitely improved (from his first season to his third season), he’s worked hard for it and it showed,” said Riley, who leads the team that is 13th.

“And he’d be the first to tell you that he’s just got to keep improving, especially as he adjusts to the NFL game, and he continues to grow as a player and deal with different challenges. I mean, teams made him play a little bit differently last year than he did his first couple years. You know that’s going to continue to happen. People are always going to try to evolve the way they attack.

“They’re not going to just sit there and let you hit them game in and game out and not try new things. You have to be willing to adapt. That’s going to be part of his growth. But he’s not going to be surprised by that. He certainly sees that. And he continues to be a student of the game. He studies the game and he learns. He knows that’s going to be a big part of it. He knows that’s definitely going to be a critical factor in his success. He knows he’s got to keep moving the ball and winning games, that’s got to happen.”

Among college coaches, Riley is unmatched in developing star quarterbacks.

During his time at Oklahoma, he tutored Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, both of whom won Heisman Trophies and were top picks in their respective draft classes. Additionally, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was a Heisman Trophy finalist while playing for Oklahoma after transferring from Alabama.

In the NFL, Mayfield finished second in voting for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He became a Pro Bowler for the first time last season. AP voters chose Murray as the top rookie on offense, and he is a two-time Pro Bowler. Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance, and he finished second for AP MVP.

At first glance, Williams has much in common with the other members of Riley’s successful quarterback club. Upon closer inspection, however, Williams enters the NFL in a different way than his predecessors who were conductors in Riley’s system.

“The only thing is he just hasn’t played as much as those other guys,” Riley said. “Those guys were older at the end of their (college) careers. All those guys have played their entire high school careers. Caleb missed his senior year because of COVID.

“Those guys were a little further along. They just saw more, experienced a little more, played a little more. And when you play a little more, you see more from a talent perspective. But he’s on par with everyone else in terms of ability. He’s a truly unique talent.”

While he’s not the type to make specific predictions about how Williams will fare in the league, Riley is confident the Bears will get the best from Williams every day.

“He’s constantly asking himself what he can do better to be better prepared next time. Then he puts in the work to be better,” Riley said. “If they (the Bears) can get the right players around him and really get him settled, he’ll start to take off.”

And Riley would love to make more time for TV to watch that.