Caleb Williams pushes back against claim he's never overcome adversity

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, whom the Bears likely will select with the No. 1 overall draft pick, pushed back Tuesday against a claim that he never has had to overcome adversity.

Writing on X, the social-media site formerly known as Twitter, Williams posted a video of analyst Greg McElroy telling the ‘‘This Is Football’’ podcast that Williams ‘‘has never experienced adversity . . . as far as how he was received and portrayed as the next, best guy.’’ McIlroy questioned Williams’ motivation — ‘‘I wonder, is there a sense of entitlement?’’ he asked — when comparing him to Patrick Mahomes, who still is driven by the fact he was picked 10th overall in 2017.

Williams responded by saying he was going to take the analyst ‘‘back to school’’ because ‘‘I’m bored.’’ He posted the definition of adversity and listed times in which he was faced with it: when he didn’t start to begin his freshman year at Oklahoma, when he hurt his hamstring in the first quarter of the Pac-12 title game in 2022 and when he went 7-5 with USC last season.

McElroy, a former national-championship-winning quarterback at Alabama, said he still believed Bears general manager Ryan Poles had to take Williams first overall because of his high ceiling.

‘‘In the event in which you’ve passed on him and he goes on to become the next Mahomes, you’re dead,’’ he said.

The Bears are expected to pick Williams, who visited Halas Hall last week, first overall April 25.