Chicago Bears fans are used to hearing plenty of national noise about their team, and most of it has not been flattering. So when Colin Cowherd spent a stretch hammering Caleb Williams, that fit the usual script. The surprise came later, when Cowherd swung so hard in the other direction that he now has Williams sitting at No. 3 in his quarterback rankings, trailing only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
That kind of turn is hard to miss, especially from someone who built a reputation on loud, attention-grabbing opinions. Cowherd’s latest take on Williams feels less like a measured evaluation and more like a full embrace of the quarterback he once spent plenty of time tearing down.
The anti-Williams run started before Williams ever played a snap for Chicago. Cowherd had put out a report saying Williams and his camp were "anti-Chicago" ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, then later walked those comments back.
That was only the beginning. More than a year later, after Williams’ rookie season, Cowherd was still taking shots, arguing that Ben Johnson and Williams would not work together. He said Johnson would"struggle to fix" Williams, a line that landed especially strangely given how early Williams was in his NFL career.
Now, with Williams approaching his third season, Cowherd has gone from skeptic to superfan. Bears fans can certainly enjoy the validation that comes with a national voice speaking glowingly about their quarterback. After years of hearing the franchise get buried, any positive attention feels like a change of pace.
But this latest ranking pushes things pretty far. No. 3 is a massive leap, and it puts Williams ahead of a long list of quarterbacks most people would still slot above him, including Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, and others.
So yes, it’s nice for Bears fans to hear the praise. It’s unfamiliar, but it’s nice. Still, Cowherd’s latest pivot has gone well past believable and into the kind of over-the-top territory that makes the whole thing feel more like a show than a serious football judgment.
In Other News...
Where Oklahoma Stands In The SEC Enrollment Size Debate
The SECs enrollment conversation has become another way to measure the conferences reach, and the latest fall 2024 figures show just how wide the range can be. Texas A&M sits at the top with 60,710 undergraduates, while Vanderbilt is at the other end at 7,221, a spread that helps explain why school size can matter well beyond the classroom.
For Oklahoma, the interest is in where it lands inside that mix as the Sooners settle deeper into the league. Enrollment does not decide games, but it can shape student sections, ticket demand and the size of the alumni base that follows a program into the 2026 college football season, which is why this ranking has become more than a curiosity for SEC fans. [Read more 🡒]
Phil Steeles Oklahoma List Says Plenty About National Respect
The preseason respect keeps piling up for Oklahoma as the Sooners head into 2026 off their first College Football Playoff run as an SEC member. Phil Steeles preseason All-America teams included five Sooners, a sign that the national conversation has already started to catch up to what Brent Venables roster looks like on paper. Defensive tackle David Stone and linebacker Kip Lewis landed on the first team, while longsnapper Ben Anderson earned first-team honors and kicker Tate Sandell was placed on the second team.
Still, the list also shows there is plenty left for Oklahoma to prove once the games begin. The Sooners did not put an offensive lineman on Steeles preseason All-America teams despite returning four starters, a reminder that the front still has room to turn reputation into recognition. For a team trying to build on last seasons breakthrough, the early accolades are nice, but the deeper test will come from whether the rest of the roster can match the billing. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Could Be Sitting On A Late Summer Roster Opportunity
The late-summer roster market may not be done shifting just yet, and Oklahoma is one of the programs positioned to benefit if it does. The NCAAs new five-seasons-in-five-years rule is being challenged in court, and while the policy is not retroactive for now, the legal fight has already produced temporary injunctions in some cases, keeping the door cracked for former players to regain eligibility and re-enter the transfer portal.
For the Sooners, the timing matters because they still have one open roster spot and enough flexibility to create room for another if needed. If the court battles continue to tilt in that direction, Oklahoma could have a chance to take advantage of a late wave of available talent without having to scramble to make the numbers work. [Read more 🡒]