WASHINGTON — Tears cascaded down Caleb Williams’ face. The then-9 year old couldn’t believe the mistake he made.
Williams was starting his first game at quarterback for the Bowie Bulldogs in Maryland. He’d previously played running back and linebacker in the three years leading up to this moment.
But after Mark McCain saw Williams throw a 40-yard pass on the dot … as his team’s third-string quarterback the season before, McCain, Russell Thomas and Carl Williams, Caleb’s father, agreed to try the fourth grader at signal caller.
So here was Williams, in his first contest – a 7-v-7 game – and his first throw was an interception.
He attempted a 15-yard pass but made the wrong read. He disregarded what he saw the defense had set-up, and paid for it immediately.
“Since I was 4, when I lost, I cried,” Williams told The Pivot Podcast. “One thing about me is my guys know I care … and winning is the most important thing to me. …
There is a time and a place for it and understanding, even if it’s raw emotion, and it comes out then and there, but being able to control it and hold it in until you get home.”
His tears, the frustration with himself and that initial failure weren’t for naught, though. In fact, those mistakes proved to be invaluable. This was the first pivotal moment in Williams’ development at quarterback.
