Devin Hester excited to battle Roscoe Parrish on Sunday

Devin Hester and Roscoe Parrish are two of the NFL’s top punt returners, but that’s not all they have in common. The dynamic playmakers, who will square off Sunday when the Bears face the Buffalo Bills in Toronto, were teammates for two seasons at the University of Miami.

“He was there before me and kind of showed me what the coaches expect,” Hester said. “He told me, ‘You’re blessed with talent and you’ve got to go out and have fun and do what you feel comfortable with.’”

Hester leads the NFL in punt returns with a 16.7-yard average. With two touchdowns this season, he has tied Brian Mitchell’s all-time league record with 13 combined kick return TDs. Parrish, meanwhile, ranks sixth in the NFL in punt returns with an 11.4-yard average and a long return of 33 yards.

“We’re kind of similar,” Hester said. “We both make a lot of guys miss. We’re both quick and fast, electrifying, that type of thing. He’s real quick, like a cat. He can stop on a dime and make a lot of guys miss.”

Parrish couldn’t help taking a peek at his old friend on tape in advance of Sunday's game.

“It’s always good to watch a guy like Devin Hester and see what kind of things he’s going to do,” Parrish said Wednesday. “I even went in the coverage teams meeting this morning and watched him, even though I wasn’t supposed to be in there, just to keep tabs on him and see how he does what he does. He is one of the best guys in the league on punt returns, so you just take notes on him.”

Hester is determined to win the one-on-one battle with Parrish on Sunday.

“At the end of the day, you want to out-do your opponent,” Hester said. “That’s the mentality I’m going to have going into this game. I want to out-do my opponent. Whatever he does, I want to do better.”

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(chicagobears.com)