Jerry Angelo recognized Devin Hester's passion to be great

ChicagoBears.com senior writer Larry Mayer speaks with general manager Jerry Angelo about the most pressing issues involving the Bears every week during the season.

LM: Devin Hester continued to cement his place in NFL history last Sunday, setting another league record with the 11th punt return touchdown of his career. What do you remember about the process that led to the Bears selecting him in the second round of the 2006 draft?
JA: “Devin was pretty prolific in college as a returner. He came out early, and he really didn’t have a defined position. If he did, he probably would have been a first-round pick. Saying that, there were teams that were going to take him in the second round. The Titans, who were picking ahead of us, had him on the phone and were making flight arrangements, and then they changed their mind literally at the last minute. So it wasn’t like he wasn’t coveted by other teams. Even though he was a bit of an enigma, he still was a tremendous talent. We felt the worst we would get was a top returner. We really had no idea he would become the best returner ever to play the game as he has. He had such a passion to be great, and that’s the one thing a lot of people don’t know about Devin. Devin’s a great worker. He has a tremendous passion to be a great player and that’s one reason we drafted him. We felt like he was going to do everything he could do to be the best he could be and that he had too much talent not to become a very good player.”

LM: What did the Bears’ area scout think of Hester?
JA: “Mark Sadowski really did a great job of evaluating Devin. Mark comforted all of us—Lovie [Smith], Dave Toub and certainly myself—that there was no bust factor with Devin. Devin was going to be a special player. We couldn’t say for sure where or when. But he felt strongly about it. That’s what I go on; what our area scouts tell me, and Mark was very adamant about that even though there was some gray area.”

LM: What stands out most about your personal evaluation of Hester?
JA: “Lovie and I were at an owners meeting in Florida and we decided to go down to Miami and work out Devin and Kelly Jennings. I remember going into the weight room and talking to the strength coach, who was revered down there and still is. He said the one thing about Devin is that you will always know where he is because he’s always around the football facility. He said Devin is a great worker and wants to know what he needs to do to be a great player, and that stuck with me. He told me Devin was the best athlete on a great team with a lot of great athletes, and there was no bust factor with Devin because he was a great kid and a great player.”


(chicagobears.com)