Former overrated college quarterback mediocre NFL backup Greg McElroy has some very intense feelings about Caleb Williams. More specifically, he questions whether Williams can ever be “great” because in his estimation he never faced adversity.
Caleb Williams claps back at Greg McElroy after asinine NFL Draft take
Greg McElroy, who never faced adversity, slams Caleb Williams for not facing adversity.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
McElroy knows a little something about never facing adversity, as the college quarterback who won a National Championship with the least amount of adversity a quarterback has ever had.
During McElroy’s 2009 and 2010 seasons he benefited from having (arguably) the best college running back group of the modern era. The afforded him the unbelievable benefit having an ever-present safety net to carry the entire offense when his arm wasn’t up to the task.
- 2009: Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch combine for 2,708 rushing yards and 27 TDs
- 2010: Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram and Eddie Lacy combine for 1,981 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns
In McElroy’s two years as a starter at Alabama he created fewer touchdowns than his running backs. Just in case you’re trying to wonder if this was because he didn’t have good receivers, well — Julio Jones was this No. 1 guy in each of those two years.
McElroy didn’t stop by just slamming Williams’ lack of “adversity,” but dabbled in dog whistling as well.
“That’s the challenge when you have a guy with this many God-given gifts. You have to take him and you just hope the mental makeup is there alongside the physical makeup — ‘cause playing quarterback in the NFL is half-mental and half-physical.”
Are we ever going to get past this dumb trope of “athlete doesn’t have the mental makeup”? It’s so tired at this point, and honestly ridiculous. You don’t run USC’s offense the way Williams has without having the brain to make it all tick.
It wasn’t long before Caleb Williams shot back detailing some the adversity he’s faced.
What makes all this stupidity infuriating is that there probably is something to be said about quarterbacks needing to cope with bad circumstances. The best guys will be drafted onto bad teams, and there is a history of some players being unable to adjust to suddenly struggling when they reach the NFL.
However, none of that applies to Caleb Williams. He didn’t win a natty off the backs of a running back group or Julio Jones. He didn’t get overrated simply because of a championship. Williams has had to face adversity, and now he’s seeing even more as he’s unfairly critiqued.
This take by McElroy is so dumb it hurts.
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