Who is Caleb Williams’ dad, Carl? Did he play football?

NFL Draft 2024 live online: First-round picks, teams, players and big board updates

Caleb Williams’ father, Carl, is deeply involved in the projected No. 1 Draft pick’s football career. Indeed, he has plotted the star quarterback’s path to the NFL since his son was just 10, after the youngster’s abundant talent - and determination to become an elite performer - became clear.

In a profile of Caleb Williams for GQ magazine, the journalist Sam Schube explains: “Along with two friends, both youth football coaches in the DC area, [Carl] devised a plan to turn his son into an all-timer.

“Daily predawn workouts. Private tutoring in the dark arts of quarterback play. Early to bed, with the thermostat set to a maximum of 68 degrees, to optimize recovery. An ever-growing spreadsheet ranking prospective college programs by their ability to help Caleb become the pro they thought he could be.”

Caleb put through paces at Carl’s Maryland gym

Caleb is among the up-and-coming athletes who have attended Athletic Republic, a sports training facility that is co-owned by his father - himself a former college football player who reportedly turned out for Oklahoma State. Located in District Heights, Maryland, Athletic Republic describes itself on its website as a “premier destination” for would-be college and professional sportsmen and women.

“He knows his kid is really good”

Carl’s dedication to protecting Caleb’s career interests has seen him attract attention for criticising the rookie wage scale in the NFL, and for reportedly exploring the potential for his son to negotiate an ownership stake in the team that drafts him. Such a deal, however, would be against league rules.

Speaking to The Athletic, an NFL scout defended Carl’s determination to ensure his son reaps the financial rewards of his talent, saying: “He’s not like the quarterback dad who is overprotective and thinks his kid is the next Peyton Manning.

“He knows his kid is really good and he is trying to max every dollar out of his kid that he can - not in an exploitative way, but trying to help. He is trying to be more his business manager than his dad.”

Carl hits out at “backwards” NFL Draft

Carl has also made headlines for comments he made in last September’s GQ profile of his son, in which he took aim at the NFL’s Draft system - and even suggested that Caleb could delay his departure from college football if he wasn’t happy with the professional team that selected him.

“The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he’d almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first,” Carl said. “The system is completely backwards. The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league - because of their desire for parity - gets the first pick. So it’s the gift and the curse.” He added: “If there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”

Caleb Williams “excited” to make NFL step up

Speaking to ESPN in February, however, Caleb played down talk of putting off his arrival in the NFL, saying he was “excited” to join the league after the 2024 Draft in Michigan, where the Chicago Bears are set to be in possession of the No. 1 pick.

While the Draft’s opening selection is usually made by the team with the worst regular-season record in the previous campaign, this is not actually the case this year: the Carolina Panthers were 2023′s lowest-performing franchise, but traded their 2024 first-round pick with the Bears, in exchange for last year’s No. 1 selection. In 2023, Chicago finished with the 23rd-best regular-season record out of the NFL’s 32 teams.

“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” Caleb told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offence and defence. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they’d be excited.”

When is the 2024 NFL Draft?

Held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit, the 2024 NFL Draft is to take place from Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 April 2024. Thursday’s first round is scheduled to get underway at 8pm ET/5pm PT.