|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, June 19, 2008 11:10 PM CDT
Bears’ Babich visits EIU camp
BY BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — First, Bob Babich just offered to answer Chicago Bears questions.
“When are the Bears going to get a better quarterback?” one of the high school participants in Eastern Illinois’ football camp said.
Babich was probably glad another camper jumped in with the answer.
“They’ve got one,” the player said. “Nick Hill.”
This player was from DuQuoin and speaking of former DuQuoin and Southern Illinois star Nick Hill who has signed with the Bears as a free agent this year.
“Let’s try to keep the questions about the defense,” Babich said in an amendment to the Q&A session, noting that he also wanted to avoid speaking of the troubled running back Cedric Benson.
The Bears’ defensive coordinator, Babich was at Eastern because his son Bobby, Eastern’s defensive backs coach, and wife Lacey had their first child Wednesday night.
He bumped the EIU football players who were going to speak at the conclusion of the camp that began Monday going mornings, afternoons and evenings and concluded with a Thursday morning session.
If talking about last year with Rex Grossman at quarterback was not easy for Babich, being asked about the previous year’s Super Bowl appearance was.
“It was unbelievable,” Babich said. “The only thing was losing was disappointing. When Devin (Hester) returned the kick and the whole thing with the pageantry was great. But once you get in the game it’s just like another game.”
He did note that the Bears get the chance to play the 2007 Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts again to open this season at the Colts’ new stadium.
Wearing a T-shirt of his alma mater the Tulsa Hurricanes, Babich first offered congratulations to all of the camp participants.
“Anytime you come here to a four-day full-padded camp when you could by lying around a pool during the summer, that says something,” the coach said. “In 19 years of coaching college football and five years in the pros, there’s one thing I’ve seen to be a constant. It’s to be the best you can be at whatever you’re doing. It’s to be the best you can be academically. If the best you can get are C’s, then that’s the best you can be. It’s the best you can be in school, in meetings, in practice or the weight room.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
