Bears won't be hasty with Devin Hester

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Chicago Bears wide receiver-returner Devin Hester blazed down the sideline, leaving late-arriving safety Chris Harris resembling a man stuck in mud. Hester's warp speed ignited an electric, 60-yard touchdown connection with quarterback Jay Cutler that delighted the 3,000-plus fans attending a practice at Olivet Nazarene University this week.

For all the weapons added to spark a 30th-ranked offense — receivers Roy Williams and Sam Hurd and running back Marion Barber III — Hester's potential breakout entering his fourth season at receiver is the talk of Bears camp.

"Devin is primed for a big year," Harris said. "He's grown a lot as a route runner. This team is primed to take the next step after coming so close to the Super Bowl. We added some good pieces.

"And Devin is very motivated."

Hester was held without a reception by the Green Bay Packers secondary in the NFC Championship Game loss.

The explosive playmaker who set the NFL record of 14 combined kickoff and punt-return touchdowns in 76 career games spent six weeks in May and June working three days a week with Cutler and the other Bears' skill players.

The former Miami (Fla.) Hurricane caught 40 passes last season after recording 50-plus catches the previous two seasons. Hester's regimen of honing his strength and stamina coincides with coach Lovie Smith's concession that the "Windy City Flyer" needs to be a bigger offensive focal point starting opposite Williams. Hester's longest reception was 39 yards last season.

That works for Cutler, who sees a more polished receiver than last year, when Hester was swimming in offensive coordinator Mike Martz's voluminous system.

"He's so much more comfortable," Cutler said. "In this system, if you think, you're not going to be very effective."

Where Hester stands is on the cusp of realizing assistant head coach-defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli's motivating comparison.

When the former Detroit Lions head coach joined the Bears in January 2009, he presented his former NFC North tormentor a DVD tribute.

"I gave Devin the movie Jim Thorpe to show him the tradition, history, a guy Devin can identify with," Marinelli said. "Devin's a great athlete just like Jim Thorpe."

Hester was intrigued.

"Coach Marinelli handed me the movie and said, 'You're the modern-day Jim Thorpe,' " Hester said.

Hester wasn't familiar with Thorpe's legendary athleticism as a Football Hall of Famer and 1912 Olympic pentathlon-decathlon gold medalist. "I learned how great Jim Thorpe was at everything," he said.

Smith's challenge is balancing his cornerback-turned-receiver's offensive touches in an effort not to diminish Hester's impact as a returner.
"I said, 'How about punt returns?' " Smith said. "Devin continues to talk about returning kicks, too. It's hard to say no to a Hall of Famer when he wants to do something."

Last Saturday, Hester watched the speeches by newly enshrined Hall of Famers Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Marshall Faulk and former Bear Richard Dent. He especially connected with Sanders' moving tribute to his mother Connie's hard-working sacrifice.

Hester's parents divorced when he was an infant. His mother was severely injured in a car crash. He lost his father to cancer as a teenager.
"I broke down in my dorm room watching those speeches," Hester said. "I want to join them in the Hall of Fame."

Smith says he'll get there if Hester continues channeling his inner Thorpe. "There will be a place for the greatest returner of all time in the Hall of Fame one day," he said.

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(usatoday.com)