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Article Source - chicagobears.com
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Less than ideal conditions didn’t prevent quarterbacks Caleb Hanie of Colorado State and Nick Hill of Southern Illinois from making some impressive throws Saturday during the Bears’ rookie minicamp.
Coach Lovie Smith praised the undrafted free agents after both put zip on their passes and generally threw with accuracy despite light rain, gusty winds and temperatures in the 40s.
Undrafted free agent Caleb Hanie chose to sign with the Bears over the Cowboys because he felt he had a better opportunity in Chicago. |
“I thought the quarterbacks threw the ball better,” Smith said. "Both have a fairly good arm for young guys coming in. Both have played at a pretty high level. Both have good leadership ability and all that, and this is a great opportunity for them.”
With only Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton ahead of them on the depth chart, Hanie and Hill are expected to battle for the third and final spot on the 53-man roster. The Bears could also pick up a quarterback who's released by another team.
“We have two quarterbacks on our roster right now, so there’s a good chance one of them will be our third quarterback,” Smith said. “There’s an opportunity and they seem like they’re going to make the most of it.”
On Saturday, Hanie hit undrafted free agent receiver James Townsend of Rutgers in the right flat and on a slant and also connected with tight ends Kellen Davis, a fifth-round pick from Michigan State, and North Carolina State's Marcus Stone, who's participating in minicamp on a tryout basis.
Hill completed passes to wide receivers Earl Bennett, a third-round pick from Vanderbilt, and Marcus Monk, a seventh-round selection from Arkansas. Townsend and Davis also caught passes from Hill.
Hanie and Hill didn’t arrive in Chicago by accident. Both made pre-draft visits to Halas Hall, and the Bears kept in contact with them for several weeks leading up to the draft, recruiting them to sign as free agents if they didn’t get selected.
Hanie was also pursued by the Dallas Cowboys, the team he rooted for while growing up in Texas. But the 6-2, 236-pounder felt the chance to earn a job was much better in Chicago.
“It’s a great opportunity, one because you just have a NFL shot, and two, we’ve got a good chance here with just two quarterbacks on the roster,” Hanie said.
“It was good that I had the opportunity to choose where I wanted to go and had a couple options, so it was nice in that area. Obviously you’d like to have your name called. But just being able to pick and choose the place that you wanted to go was a good thing for me.”
As a senior at Colorado State last season, Hanie completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,455 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Hanie boasts a strong arm and a quick release but often forced passes into coverage. Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is high on Hanie, predicting that he will be the Bears' third quarterback this season and eventually start.
Hanie feels that he’s well-suited to operate the Bears offense.
Nick Hill completed 71.5 percent of his passes last season at Southern Illinois. |
“I think I’ll fit in real well with it because it’s a lot of straight drop-back and play-action passes, and I ran a lot of that in college,” he said. “You also get in the shotgun a little bit, and I did some of that in college too. I think I’m pretty well-versed in both areas.
"I like the offense a lot. It makes sense to me. I’ve picked it up pretty quick so far and I imagine that I can keep picking it up and moving on.”
A big Bears fan while growing up in southern Illinois, Hill no doubt took a quick glance or two at himself in a mirror before heading out to practice at the start of minicamp Friday.
“It’s exciting,” Hill said. “It’s a dream come true. If we wanted to stay out here for five hours and practice, I’m willing to do that. Just putting on this helmet and practice jersey is an honor. I feel very fortunate to be here.”
Last season at Southern Illinois, Hill completed 71.5 percent of his passes for 3,175 yards with 28 TDs and 7 interceptions. The 6-3, 210-pound lefty also feels comfortable with the Bears offense, something that was evident Friday and Saturday.
“He looked smooth,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “We sent him some stuff earlier in the week and it was evident that he studied it, that he got into the playbook a little bit. He had a pretty good grasp of stuff and looked good.”
For the immediate future, the Bears' playbook will be Hill's constant companion.
"You’ve just got to get in there and know it front and back," he said. "You’ve got to know everything in that thing and then you can go to the line and feel confident and the game starts to slow down a little bit once you know what you’re doing.
"The next three or four months, this is all I’m going to do. Every night [I'll] study the playbook because I know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I have. I’ve got to come out here and show the coaches that they can feel confident and throw me out there in a game.”
Roster move: The Bears on Saturday released David Faaeteete, a defensive tackle from Oregon whom they had signed as an undrafted free agent on Monday.
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