Illinois coach Bret Bielema name-drops highly-touted NFL QB with 'insane' arm talent

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Illinois Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema has a lot to be excited about these days.

From winning 19 games over a two-year span (including consecutive bowl wins) to performing the seventh-inning stretch on an annual basis at Wrigley Field since his arrival in Champaign, Bielema has stayed busy.

Bielema was able to unwind a bit by watching select NFL OTAs, including a stop at Halas Hall to watch the Chicago Bears. And, of course, their star quarterback, Caleb Williams.

Williams, who graced the cover of the soon-to-be-released Madden NFL 27 video game later this summer, went viral for a pass that saw him roll out to the right and find Rome Odunze for a touchdown. The video had 1.8 million impressions on 'X,' sending Bears fans into a frenzy.

Bielema, who grew up a Bears fan and was 15-years-old when they won the Super Bowl, was awestruck watching Williams.

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"You've got a quarterback, I'm telling you, I've been around a lot of quarterbacks. Russell Wilson, all these guys," Bielema said in an interview with 104.3 The Score. "The arm talent of Caleb [Williams] is insane. He rolled out to his right and threw a ball down the field, and I just sat there and shook my head."

Bielema has had immense quarterback success during his collegiate coaching career, including Wilson's collegiate years alongside Luke Altmyer and Tommy Devito, to name a few.

Based on Bielema's remarks, it's clear that Williams has believers not only in the NFL but also at the collegiate level.

That's saying a lot, especially considering how small Williams' sample size is at the NFL level.

If there is any added pressure from the outside world, Williams' validation from Bielema only goes to show how much of a must-see TV player he is.

It also goes to show that Bielema may continue his collegiate-to-NFL Draft pipeline in the future with another signal-caller who still hasn't hit the radar just yet.

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But that remains to be seen.