Post by Deleted on May 29, 2018 13:09:51 GMT -6
Remembering Chicago Bears training camp favorites from the past
ByMatt Eurich 2 hours ago
As the weather gets warmer and the sun is staying up in the sky for longer periods of time, that just means Chicago Bears training camp is right around the corner. Over the course of the last several years the fan base has found itself attached to underdogs on the roster.
Chicago's first training camp took place at Mills Stadium in Chicago in 1930 before taking place at Loyola and then Logan Square Ballpark in the 1930s. The Bears then held training camp at Notre Dame in 1933 before a stop at Lane Tech High School in Chicago in 1934. The Bears then had a run at St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin between 1935 and 1934. St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana became the summer home of the organization for thirty years between 1944 and 1974 before heading back to Illinois in 1975 at Lake Forest College.
Chicago made the University of Wisconsin-Platteville its home between 1984 and 2001 before heading to Olivet Nazarene University in 2002 in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Whether the team was in Platteville or Olivet, there has always been fan favorites who have emerged from these training camps. Chicago will get camp started later this summer when it reports on July 19 and begins its first practice on July 20. The team is starting camp earlier this year since they are participating in the Hall of Fame Game on August 2 in Canton, Ohio against the Baltimore Ravens.
Below we take a look at some of the players who instantly became fan favorites during those hot summer days at training camp. Some are from recent years, while a few go a bit of a ways back in the vault.
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RB Darnell Autry
Darnell Autry was a local hero in Chicago.
He helped lead Northwestern to the 1996 Rose Bowl and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1995. During his time with the Wildcats he rushed for 3,793 yards with 35 touchdowns but his game did not translate to the NFL.
The training camp fan favorite rushed for just 319 yards in 1997 and did not get back onto the field until 2000 with the Philadelphia Eagles. During that season he saw action in 11 games with seven starts, picking up 334 rushing yards on 112 attempts with three touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 275 yards with one touchdown.
P Pat O'Donnell
Somehow, someway punter Pat O'Donnell became a training camp favorite during his rookie season in 2014.
Because of his booming legs and high kicks, O'Donnell became known as MegaPunt to those who observed him in training camp. Fans even started chanting his nickname at times during his rookie camp. A sixth-round pick of the team, O'Donnell had a career-high 87 punts last season for 4,087 yards with an average of 47 yards per punt. 27 of those punts landed inside the 20-yard line. In his career he has punted 296 times for 13,285 yards with a 44.9 average with 99 punts landed inside the 20-yard line.
He signed a one-year deal with the Bears this offseason to return.
WR Daniel Braverman
Daniel Braverman may have been a seventh-round pick in 2016, but the Bears fanbase was very excited to watch the young slot receiver. Braverman routinely made plays in training camp but was not given very many opportunities during the preseason to show off his abilities.
He began the 2016 season on Chicago's practice squad before appearing in just three games. The former seventh-round pick was waived by the Bears before the start of last season. Earlier this year he was signed to the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs when they were in the playoffs. He later signed a reserve/future contract with the team.
OL Joe Spivak
Joe Spivak became one of the most notable training camp favorites back in the 1980s. A solid contributor at Illinois State, Spivak got an opportunity to prove himself to the Bears in 1985 at training camp in Platteville, Wisconsin.
"You can't say enough about the way Spivak plays," said coach Mike Ditka at the time, via the Chicago Tribune. "This is a guy who was in the real world. He came out of the cold. He really appreciates the three squares and the bed."
Spivak did not end up making the 53-man roster but he was someone fans gravitated toward because of his enthusiasm. Spivak's son, who is also named Joe, earned internet fame for being named a preferred walk-on at Northwestern after having a hilarious photo on his 247Sports page (which has since been changed).
RB Jordan Lynch
Jordan Lynch was a local product from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting in his senior season at Northern Illinois. He went undrafted but Chicago added him to their roster with the intention of moving him from quarterback to running back. Fans could not get enough of the young running back in his first training camp in 2014. His name was routinely hurled toward head coach Marc Trestman with the hope he would get on the field.
After passing for 6,209 yards with 51 touchdowns and rushing for 4,343 yards with 48 touchdowns in four years with the Huskies, the fan favorite was unable to make the team's final roster. He did spend two seasons in the CFL before joining NIU's coaching staff in 2017. Earlier this year he was named the head coach at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.
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TE Fendi Onobun
Many NFL teams are still trying to find the next Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez with someone who primarily played basketball at the collegiate level. A four-year contributor at Arizona he averaged 1.8 points per game in his college career with just three starts in 81 games. He then played one year of football at Houston in 2009, appearing in 11 games. During that stretch he caught two passes for one touchdown.
The St. Louis Rams took him in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft and he saw action in three games that year. He ended the season with two catches for 15 yards. He then spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins in 2011 before appearing in one game for the Jacksonville Jaguars that same year. Onobun spent part of 2011 and 2012 with the Buffalo Bills before joining the Bears in 2013. There was hope he could develop into a pass-catching tight end for the Bears but that dream was never realized. He spent that year on Chicago's practice squad before another brief stint with the Jaguars in 2014.
RB Garrett Wolfe
Garrett Wolfe was one of the hottest names in college football between 2004 and 2006 and the Bears selected the young back in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Wolfe had rushed for 5,164 yards and scored 52 touchdowns at Northern Illinois and was instantly a fan favorite in Bourbonnais. While the Chicago native had the fans clamoring for him during his time with the organization, he rushed for just 282 yards on 72 attempts and scored only one touchdown in the NFL before his career came to a close after the 2010 season. Even though his NFL production never matched his collegiate career, Wolfe remained a training camp favorite during his time with the Bears.
WR Tanner Gentry
Many Bears fans thought the team had a true diamond-in-the-rough last year with Wyoming's Tanner Gentry. Signed as an undrafted free agent, Gentry immediately connected with rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky throughout camp. He consistently got himself open for the young quarterback and made plays during the preseason. He eventually got his chance during the regular season. He appeared in four games with three starts. During that time he caught just three passes for 35 yards before he was placed back on the practice squad.
He is returning once again this year and stands to be another camp favorite for the organization if he performs similarly in Bourbonnais this summer.
