WEBVTT - All Access: Horsted's path to the NFL 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:04.560 The following is a presentation of the Chicago Bears Network 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:08.600 and Chicago Bears dot Com. Download the Chicago Bears Official 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:11.600 mobile app for up to the minute Bears content every 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:16.239 day and now welcome to Bears All Access, your all 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:21.000 access passing to Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:25.000 brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Athletical 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:32.600 Physical Therapy and Art Van Furniture and Mattress. I like it. 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:37.000 I like it. No some books from Luke Capitol here 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.840 at Nancy Studios at Hattisa And welcome into another edition 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:43.280 of Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:45.839 with Tom Thare. I'm Jeff Joniac, the rookie Tight and 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:48.320 Jasper Horse that will be kind enough to join us 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.120 coming up in the program. And I like the feistiness 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.440 of this crowd. It's small but mighty right first time 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.320 you ever interviewed at Jasper, I have to think so, 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:00.560 I just I'll had a chance say hi to him 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:02.200 out in the hall and I said, when you come 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:03.640 in here, I want you to give a lot of 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:08.039 long Princeton answers. Well, we might get that he's well 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.360 spoken man, that's for sure. And getting an opportunity of 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:13.600 a lifetime as a rookie and being a prominent fixture 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:16.039 right now in this final month of the season, and 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.520 it's hard not to look at the whole picture and 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.399 maintain your enthusiasm because you do, no matter what the 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.920 cliches say, have to take it one day at a time. 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.240 And it's not sexy. It doesn't mean a whole lot, 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.720 but it does for this twenty nineteen Chicago Bears team 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.840 that was very happy that the Vikings lost last night. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:37.480 That certainly helps a little bit, you know, But a 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:40.880 guy like Jasper, his enthusiasm is important because he's, you know, 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:45.199 gain momentum throughout the season. He came here unexpectedly making 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.080 the Bears and then got transferred from the practice squad 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.680 to the active roster and then was able to come 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.480 in and make a touchdown catch on a difficult, difficult 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.600 catch a play design where he was the third receiver. 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:00.280 And I think when you get a chance to get 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.400 a Keem Hicks back in the mix out there on 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.480 the practice field, and you kind of see a little, 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:10.440 you know, just a lighten the distance because when he 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.160 gets inserted into the active lineup and stuff. So there 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.080 are elements right now that are really exciting to the 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:19.960 Bears going through these final four games. And you talk 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:22.040 about two teams with an arrow pointed up and a 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:24.840 arrow pointed down at both having the same record at 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.320 six and six. There's a lot of positive things to 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.040 build on with the Bears right now, and you've got 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.880 to capitalize the momentum because I think it's really important 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:36.040 to take that element and keep building with it and 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:37.880 from it. And you have to. And you know, Matt 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.280 Nagie today said he definitely learned a lot about what 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:42.600 he has during the four game losing streak because it 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:44.839 could have done in any number of ways. He said 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.880 it wouldn't and he was right in the end. Again, 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:50.640 a lot of things he says turn out to be true. 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:52.880 It just takes some time to get there sometimes, and 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:56.239 I think that's a message that locker room takes to 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.720 heart a little bit. Kilil Mac was very very positive today, 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.000 very excited about what this is. He goes, it's almost like, 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.560 in a sense, you're trying to do the impossible and 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.000 that's where the competitive juices flow. And as long as 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:10.160 you got one of the guys that lead the way 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:13.280 saying that you're in a good place in terms of 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.040 mentally going into that game against the Cowboys. Oh yeah, 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:18.200 I mean, it's always great to have a depositive attitude 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:20.880 to Klil Mac. But I think it's even a bigger 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:22.919 example when those guys go into the meeting rooms and 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.800 they see what he does on tape. And it's not 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.480 only Klil Mack the pass rusher, it's Khalil Mack the 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:30.920 football player. And when you look at some of the 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.079 dirty work that he's willing to do, it sets an 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.600 example for some of these other guys that need that 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.760 example set before him to see how hard you have 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:41.080 to work in order to ultimately achieved the success that 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:43.440 Khalil has. And he's going to going down the road. 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.400 But I also think another important element of success in 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:50.320 the locker room is the building blocks that Mitch has 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:53.320 been displaying in the last three or four weeks. He's 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.240 shown the improvement that we've all wanted to see. He's 0:03:56.240 --> 0:04:00.240 getting other plays actively involved in the mix. While he's 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.240 losing players and Trey Burton, Adam Sheheen, he's adding players 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.720 like Anthony Miller, Javon Wimms, and Jessper Horstad who will 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.640 hear from so I think all those elements and how 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:13.120 they fit in with each other to keep that atmosphere 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.279 in the positive direction. Matt Naggie has always seen it, 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.919 even though they went through that little bit of a slide. 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:20.840 This is Bears All Access. It's brought to you by 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.400 Igs Energy, Jeff Jonik and Tom there with you. We 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:25.640 got a four o'clock pregame and a seven twenty two 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:28.800 kickoff between the Bears and Cowboys on Thursday night. So 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:32.360 that Cowboys team has been going in the opposite direction, 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.480 not just three of the last four, but six of 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.040 the last nine games that they've lost. Despite that fact, 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:41.480 they have the number one yardage offense in the league. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.159 I don't care as much about that. I care about points, 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.080 but they can score points when they're humming. They're getting 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.200 over thirty points a game. They've got the number one 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.839 third down offense in football, they've got the number three 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.080 third down defense in football, and they've got weapons on 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:57.880 both sides of the ball that you got to account for. 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:02.640 But for some reason, the mystery isn't working right. They've struggled, 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:06.840 and now you get the almost on que response from 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:10.039 the locker room that we're angry, and the whole week talking. 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:13.040 Now Michael Bennett, one of their new additions, he's speaking up. 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.719 You've got players saying, you know enough of the talk 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:21.320 and everything that is predictable for a team that frankly 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:23.800 is still in first place in the NFC East. Well, 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:25.680 you know what, I don't need to hear anything out 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:27.400 of Michael Bennett. I'm not going to have a guy 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:29.120 that's been around the team for two and a half 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:32.760 week and start giving speeches of inspiration to guys like 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.679 Jason Witton who have been there for fifteen or seventeen years. 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:39.640 The most destructive message that's filtering in the locker room 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.880 of the Dallas Cowboys is coming from Jerry Jones, because 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.400 I think when you are the general manager, you're the 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.000 tone setter for that team. You're the guy that's out 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.320 in front of all these radio and TV interviews, and 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.120 you're not giving your coach a vote of confidence. That's 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:57.280 super destructive to the locker room because who is evaluating 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:58.880 me to tell me that I'm going to have my 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:01.640 job here next year? If you're a position coach and 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:03.960 you're gonna be gone with the head coach, and it's 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.159 not guarantee that he's going to be gone. But they're 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.160 setting that message, they're setting that tone that the possibility 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.920 of him being gone now it really changes. It backfires 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.680 in a sense, Yeah, backfires because, Okay, if this head 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:17.240 coach is going to be gone, I want to make 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.919 sure by the time the season's over, I'm healthy and 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.200 ready to compete in front of my new coach. You know, now, 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.479 do you sit out there and you give you put 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.000 your say, you put yourself in the same position during 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:29.680 the course of the game that you need to. But 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.600 you're in first place, I know, But you're a You're 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:34.760 in a crappy division right now. You know. You look 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:37.240 at Washington, you look at Philly getting beat by the 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:42.120 you know, the Dolphins last week. So yeah, but in 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.640 the in the big picture, if they win the division 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:46.800 with an eight and eight record, it doesn't matter, You're 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.560 going to the playoffs. But when I'm saying here, though 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.200 it doesn't, it doesn't feel like that. But at the 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.280 same time, there there are things and elements about that 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:58.560 game that the Bears better be ready for. One, they 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:02.360 do have a very aggressive front seven and Jalen Smith 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.320 is playing some really good football middle linebacker. Yeah, they 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:08.400 have one of the most aggressive front fronts in all 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.560 of defense. They can confuse you. They can overwhelm you 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:13.960 with speed. They can put more bodies in one area 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:17.240 that you have the capabilities of blocking. But on the 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:20.480 same point, sometimes they can use that to their detriment. 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.200 They can be pass rushers and not run stoppers. They 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:25.040 can run by the running back while he has the 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:27.280 ball in his hands and he's up to the second 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.480 the last four quarterbacks they played Daniel Jones, Jeff Driscoll, 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.720 who the who. The Bears have played both of these guys, 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:35.760 and then last week Josh Allen all ran for some 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.080 pretty good yards up against that rush. So Mitch could 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.520 have opportunities to do that, and he's got to take 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:43.920 advantage of them. I agree. You know, you watch the 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:45.880 tape and a lot of these guys they pass rush 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.840 with their head down and if they're you know, you know, 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.120 one body out of position, they're not falling through with 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.800 their assignments. They have man to man coverage and all 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.720 the defensive backs are following wide receivers down the field. 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.360 That would be a great opportunity for Mitchell. Trip Whisky, 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.360 you know, probably getting health of her himself, and you know, 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:07.000 probably feeling another bright spot with him along the way. 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.960 Is that your phone fifty push ups? That's a findable offense, 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:13.120 don't you think, folks, Because if it were me, I 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:14.760 tell you what he'd be calling me out. Was that 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:16.720 your phone? Well, it's a message and that said, Hey, 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.040 this is coach Naggy just listening to you guys, and 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:24.240 Jeff is doing a great jobs. That's down there. I'm 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.440 Jeff Joni ac End. This is Bears All Access coming up. 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:30.520 Rookie tight End jessper Horsted will join the program. You're 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:35.640 on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Street and welcome 0:08:35.679 --> 0:08:38.320 back to Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy, 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:41.760 at proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.319 and home warranty products to over one million customers across 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.720 the country. Learn more about IGS Energy at igs dot com. 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.040 Jeff Joni k Tomp There hear it before live studio 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.760 audience at PNC Studios at Hollis Hall from Loop Capitol, 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.720 A fiery bunch and ready to go. Is we welcome 0:08:57.720 --> 0:08:59.880 in Rookie ten End Jesper Horse did the rookie had 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:03.400 a Inston and now a converted receiver playing tight end 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:07.079 with a catch that is still being talked about. Congratulations 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.200 on your success and the first couple of games active 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.840 on the roster and making this roster. But with that catch, 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:16.920 there's been I've seen pictures all over the internet. You know, 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:19.000 it's got to be I don't know if you're looking 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:22.199 at him, but it's it's heavy stuff for a rookie 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.440 to have that kind of play in just your second 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.080 or third NFL game. Yeah, thank you very much, and 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:30.959 thank you for having me. Guys. It is it's kind 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:32.760 of surreal, and the pictures are everywhere, and my friends 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.120 are sending me them and parents are tagging him and 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.960 Facebook and whatnot. But uh, you know, at the same time, 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.000 like that's kind of stuff that I've been doing my career, 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.920 and you know, it's just something I hope that I 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.160 can do. If the ball is as close and as 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.280 good of a pass as that one was right in 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:48.640 front of my face, I should hope I'd be able 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.760 to come down with that. The interesting thing is one 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.599 rookie beat another Will Harris from Boston College. Right, Yeah, 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:56.439 here's just you know, a little little tight end from 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.800 Princeton making the big play. I'm sure that didn't go 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:05.160 unnoticed by you as well. No, um, yeah it did not. Yeah, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:07.800 I mean he was a highly drafted player, and you know, 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:09.280 you had to work your way to get onto a 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.439 roster and undrafted and made this football team. So it's 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:15.800 interesting Roseville, Minnesota. Were you a Vikings fan growing up? 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:20.600 It's okay, I knew the answer, well either, you know, so, 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.200 did you gravitate towards the wide receivers of the Vikings 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.120 as a kid, or did you gravitate towards other position players? No, 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.679 certainly the wide receivers. And I was a little bit 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.720 before the Randy Moss era, but there was like, you know, 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.200 the clips are always there, and I grew up watching those. 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:36.480 And then I as I was getting older and really 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.880 coming into like being a receiver, Delon was developing as well, 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:42.200 and that was so cool because he was a hometown guy. 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:44.400 They grew up pretty close to me, and I was 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:47.120 able to watch him in that first preseason actually when 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:49.280 he was fighting for US or spots. So I always 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:51.640 followed his journey very closely and looked up exact of 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:54.560 a story. Yeah, za, guys, I mean, did you get 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.520 to know him at all? I never did know. Okay, 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.400 so your touchdown catch, Just to revisit that a second, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.400 first step off the line scrimmage, did you know you 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:05.200 won the route because you had perfect position already in 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:07.480 the safety was kind of taking as he's going, I'm 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:09.600 not going to respect this guy at all. I'm stepping 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:11.760 away from him. So from the first step, did you 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.240 know you won the route? I had a good feeling 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.000 about it. I wouldn't say I knew I won the route, 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:18.760 but I had a head start in the race, right. 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:20.600 And then when you go back and you look at 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.440 it on film, you see that one outside defender to 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.600 your right. He did a really nice job of both 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.720 taking Cordell Patterson out of his route in being able 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:32.480 to laterally float out there with tere Cohen. And so 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:34.240 when you get a better chance to look at it 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:36.840 on tape after the fact, man, you Mitch did a 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.720 great job of going one two back to back to you. Yeah, exactly. 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:43.040 I mean, I'm not the first read on that play. 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.040 It just really worked out the coverage that I had, 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.559 the good leverage and the open window. Are you aware 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:52.440 of that safety moving out of the place that where 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:56.079 your route's going to take you? I was I mean, 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.440 in the moment, vaguely aware of it, but for the 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:00.600 most part I was focused on the guy that was 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.160 just inside me and beating him to the spot. But 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.360 I later, as I watched the film, I was like, oh, wow, 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:06.959 that really worked out even better than I could have 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:09.520 asked for. So your route to the tight end position. 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:13.040 I noticed that when you were being you were going 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:14.600 to go to the East West Shrine game, they had 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.680 a wide receiver. When did you morph into that the 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.679 body of a tight end? When I showed up here, 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:23.079 I actually came here thinking I was going to be 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.199 a wide receiver. And the first scout I talked to 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:26.679 you said, you know, actually like we're going to try 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:28.920 you at tight end. And I was like, I've never 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:31.160 put my hand in the ground before it like, are 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.760 you sure? Like am I wasting my time here? And 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.360 then you kind of explained that there, you know, it's 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.400 not your classic tight end that you're thinking of, and 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:40.360 you know, think more of like Trey Burton. He's about 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:42.320 your size, and we think that we can put some 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.360 weight on you and you know, teach you how to 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.200 do that stuff and you'd be a good fit. And 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.240 you know, I was very open to it. Kind of 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.720 a similar story to Zach Miller because he was a 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.599 quarterback and then they brought him to a workout and 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:54.360 they said, getting a stance, We're going to look at 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.240 your tight end. He's never been in a stance before. 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.080 So when you did start getting into it, you know, 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:03.120 you've seen a three point stance your whole football life. Like, 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:04.680 did you just get into it and go, oh, this 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.480 is the way it's supposed to feel, or because you know, 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:09.720 as long as I played football, it seemed like it 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.800 took about three days before you really felt comfortable getting 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.640 in an out of your stance. Yeah, it was not 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.280 something that clicked right away. I definitely took practice and 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.120 some help from the older guys. And even today I 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:21.959 don't always get in the exact same stance, so they'll 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:23.560 have to correct me here and there. But I'm way 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.720 more comfortable now than I was with it before. And yeah, 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:28.920 it is something you see often and you just kind 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.000 of pick up on it. So you were undrafted, so 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:34.080 you had choices, You had other teams no doubt interested. 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.200 So did you start the question after the fact that 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:41.000 you know initially because obviously you've played one position your 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.480 whole career, but they thought enough of you that you 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.440 have skill set to fit into a different role. Not 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.920 that unusual in terms of the U tight end position, 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.320 which is a move tight end because of your pass 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:54.599 catching seals, But did you have to catalog it a 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.440 little bit and think about it. So it wasn't quite 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.480 all went down actually. So I kind of came out 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:02.040 of college just playing four years of receiver and I 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:03.600 was on the larger side and I knew that, but 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:05.400 I still was going for receiver in the NFL. When 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:06.800 I went to the Shrine game, I was a receiver. 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.440 And I got hurt training for my pro day, and 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.360 got hurt again on my pro day, and so I 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:14.439 did not get drafted, which you know I was hoping 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:16.920 for but not expecting, and then I also didn't get signed. 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.320 So I got no calls after the draft, no nothing. 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.800 And so my agent, you know, called up a lot 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:24.120 of teams and said, well, we have this guy at 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.480 your tryout, and some teams said no, and a couple 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.280 said yes. And so we worked out two teams that 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.040 we thought might be a good fit for me, this 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:33.640 team in the Saints, and this happened to be the 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:35.920 first weekend, so I was planning to flight in New 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.560 Orleans the next weekend, and yeah, I mean I kind 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:41.040 of showed up and they said that, and I was like, 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:42.920 you know what, I've been marketing myself as a receiver, 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:45.520 but obviously that didn't work too well. Let's try this. 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:47.440 Maybe this is a better fit for me at this level. 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.800 And so I went through that, went through the rookie minicamp, 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:54.680 and actually I think that they hadn't made up their 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:56.920 mind on me yet, and so I they're like, all right, 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:58.320 I'm sorry, Like we don't have a spot for you 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.600 right now. So I packed up my lock here and 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.640 flew home. But then when the plane landed and I 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:04.640 had a call waiting from coaching Aggie and my agent 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:06.880 saying they changed their mind. They made a spot for you. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:09.440 So it's kind of where the last men in canceled 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.880 that trip to New Orleans and been here since. It 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.240 makes your story even more remarkable. Yeah, a lot of us. 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.000 I mean, honestly, when you look at it that way, 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:19.840 this will be a story that we hope we can 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:23.080 tell ten years from now after a great career. Jesper 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.680 Horsted our guest year on Bears All Access with Tom 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:27.920 There I'm Jeff Joniak, and we're brought to you by 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:31.280 IGS Energy. So in your conference that you played in 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:34.240 a college, your junior year fourteen touchdowns, ninety two catches, 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.600 twelve hundred and twenty six yards, seventy two catches, your 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.840 senior year thirteen touchdowns, a thousand plus yards. Were you 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:44.880 a big wide receiver or were you that much better 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.120 than the defensive back talent you were playing against, because 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:51.640 those are impressive numbers for anybody at any college anytime. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.320 I definitely was a bigger receiver. I had a size 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.960 advantage against most of the cornerbacks I was going up against. 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:58.720 I was probably, you know, about the same height six 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.560 three six four two twenty to two twenty five most 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:06.280 of the time. And so I think that when people 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.600 think of IVY League football, they actually think of it 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.840 as a lot worse than it is, because as I've 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:15.000 gone up the levels of competition, each time I elevate, 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.280 so that East West game was the first experience of that, 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:20.320 and then here too, it's all the jump is always 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.320 smaller than I expected, and I think that's a tribute 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.040 to the quality of football it's being played in the 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:28.160 IVY League. But I mean, yeah, I think I had 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.320 really good quarterbacks, both of which are in the NFL 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:34.840 right now, and really good, you know, surrounding teammates as well, 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.360 whether it's the receivers an alignment. So going back one 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:40.320 more time to do a high school playoff game, he 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.680 had nineteen catches for two hundred and ninety three yards. 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.200 Now that number one was anybody covering you? And number two, 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:49.480 did you have an offense that exposed great receivers to 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:52.480 this style football? Because when I think of Minnesota, I 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.480 think of more of you know, the time, the weather 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.120 conditions and everything you're playing up there. Just back to 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.960 your high school roots. Was at us? You know, did 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:03.800 you throw it more often than run it? We did 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.560 because I had a very talented quarterback in high school too, 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.040 And I mean we had been throwing it a lot 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.119 that year, but that game was actually in like twenty 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.080 five degree weather outside and like at the University of 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:18.439 Minnesota college field, so it wasn't really passing conditions. But 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.520 that was our strength that year, and the quarterback was 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.600 looking my way about that game. Yeah, he was the 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.680 coldest game we've ever done at University of Minnesota. When 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.200 the metrodome went belly up and we had to play 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.440 that game. I'll never forget remember we did that TV 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.320 show outside that place. That was the coldest I've ever been, 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.560 so God bless you. That's for sure. Welcome to Chicago. 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.240 It's a little a little bit nicer on a January 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:43.879 day or a December day. This is Bears All Access. 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:45.960 We're gonna take a break here on Chicago Sports Radio 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:52.360 six seventy to score shredded cheese beans, however you make them. 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:55.480 Share your Bears game day natural recipe at Tostitos Bears 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.440 dot com for a chance to win a Bears VIP 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.840 tailgating experience and tickets at that number twenty second game 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.800 against Kansas City. Maybe the best Nacho's win. You got 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:08.680 a particular nacho persuasion. You're you're a guy who likes 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.080 to fire things up in the kitchen, as long as 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.560 it doesn't include tomatoes. Yeah, you don't like tomatoes. I 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:15.320 thought you were going to start talking about your abs 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.159 when you read Dad, I'm gonna started with shredded. I 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:20.640 was going, all right, here we go. That's tom there. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:24.280 I'm Jeff Joniak and jessper Horstead. The Bears tight end 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:26.840 here joining us on Bears and all access from panc 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.640 Studio here at Hattis Hall along with our friends from 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:34.639 Loop Capitol. You are all around athlete a man. You 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:39.960 not only played in Metro Minnesota Metro Minneapolis football, but 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:44.160 apparently that was your third choice behind baseball and basketball 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.800 is at the order because you also played baseball Princeton 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.399 and tore the cover off the ball too. Is a 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:53.640