In addition to playing football, Kmet was also a closer for Notre Dame's baseball team -- until last spring, when he made the decision to focus his attention on reaching the NFL. It was a decision that simply came down to which sport he wanted more.
"At the end of the day, you just got to choose something you're really passionate about," Kmet said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Tuesday morning. "Football, for me, is what did it. Running out of the tunnel on Saturdays was just something I just loved doing and want to continue to do. I felt like this was my path and what I wanted to do."
Kmet had a workout with the White Sox coming out of high school. They were prepared to draft him, but he went on to Notre Dame as a two-sport standout.
A native of Lake Barrington, Kmet was drafted to his favorite football team Friday evening, when the Bears took him No. 43 overall in the second round. He's a diehard Chicago sports fan, though there were questions about his allegiance as a baseball fan.
On Friday night, a tweet from Kmet in 2014 resurfaced in which he simply wrote, "Cubs suck." Kmet explained it was frustration after a lost year for the team.
"That was after a bad season," Kmet said. "I'm a Chicago fan. That's how they are. No, I'm a huge Cubs fan.
"I'm sticking to my roots. I'm a huge North Side guy, huge Cubs fan."