A Chicago Bears rookie will have a unique adjustment to the NFL after having a faux college football experience, or so his former coach says. The Bears rookies won’t report to training camp until July 16 after wrapping up their final practices at OTAs last Wednesday.
The Chicago Bears have an important rookie class
The Bears rookie draft class of five players is small, but it’s the most important and potent group in the era of Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. With Eberflus facing pressure to make the playoffs this season, the Bears will need three of the five rookies they drafted to make a positive impact immediately.
The Bears already named the No. 1 pick in the draft, Caleb Williams, as their starting quarterback. Fellow first-round pick, wide receiver Rome Odunze, will be a Week 1 starter. The Bears fourth-round pick, Tory Taylor, will also begin his NFL career on Sept. 8 against the Tennessee Titans.
Tory Taylor hasn’t experienced “real football” yet
Per an interview with Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, Taylor’s special teams coach at Iowa, LeVar Woods, said Taylor has a unique adjustment in coming into the NFL. The praise he received from Iowa fans won’t be the same in Chicago:
Probably some things in the locker room. The locker room is way different. There are 130 players on our team here. There’s not that in the NFL, especially once the season is going. So that part will be definitely different for him.
And I’ve shared this with him before. When he walks out into Kinnick Stadium here in Iowa City, anybody that sees him, they go crazy. The fans go crazy. They introduce him in pregame warmups, and the fans go nuts. His first punt of every game, we had to use a silent cadence because the fans are going crazy. They’re cheering. They’re waving Australian flags in the stands.
I told him, “This is not real football. You go in the NFL, once the punter hits the field, everyone is booing. They don’t want to see you on the field. They want to see someone else.” So I think that is going to be something for him to deal with or something that is slightly different.
Iowa is a little different
Iowa football is known for its spectacular defense and pathetic offense. Taylor was one of Iowa’s best chances for the Hawkeyes to eventually score because he pinned opponents deep inside the 5-yard line.
Bears fans might appreciate Taylor’s punt after seeing the result, but no one wants to see him come out onto the field for that duty. That would mean Williams and the offense aren’t scoring.
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