INDIANAPOLIS (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Jeff Joniak's latest dispatch from the NFL Scouting Combine.
First impression
With no animosity and total humility, Ferris State offensive lineman Devon Johnson of Aurora is the rare prospect who did not start for his high school team. Johnson said he started just one game at Waubonsie Valley High School for head coach Paul Murphy, despite being a 6-7, 300-pounder. His only start came against East Aurora.
“I can’t be upset with him,” Johnson said. “I’m glad he did it. I feel it made me work harder for it and humbled be a lot. Me being the biggest person in high school, you would think the biggest person is going to start, but that wasn’t the deal for me. It made me want to play football even more.”
Fifty-one college starts at Ferris State later, Johnson is a NFL Scouting Combine invite and telling teams about his passion for the game. He is the second player in school history to get the invite after playing in the Division II National title game. He also played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl game and was a consensus All-American. Johnson is a born and bred Bears fan.
Second thought
Another Notre Dame offensive lineman is headed to the NFL, in part due to the coaching of Bears line coach Harry Heistand. The 6-5, 315-pound Alex Bars is an interior line prospect and a Notre Dame captain in 2018.
“Coach Heistand was an unbelievable mentor,” said Bars. “He made sure we were unbelievable players as well as a great person off the field. The biggest thing for him was just his attention to detail on everything that we did, and he always made sure that we were on top of our stuff no matter what, at all times.”
Bars suffered a torn left ACL and MCL in September in a win over Stanford and missed much of the season. The fifth-year senior started 25 games at guard and tackle over the last two full seasons. Some valuable insight from a scouting perspective will come from Heistand on Bars, which helps in nailing down a proper grade on the offensive lineman.
Bars’ father Joe played with WBBM Bears analyst Tom Thayer in the early 1980s at Notre Dame.
Third degree
Wondering what Wisconsin tackle David Edwards would ask his 17-year-old self about five years ago if he envisioned being a 308-pound offensive lineman at the Scouting Combine. He was Downers Grove North’s 215-pound quarterback, who didn’t lift weights or eat breakfast.
“I don’t know if I would be surprised,” said Edwards. “I would say that it was always a dream of mine to get to this point and the fact that I am here is incredible. I don’t know if I would have believed you as an O-lineman. I had confidence in my ability, but this is a dream come true for me.”
Edwards left Wisconsin a year early and considered entering the 2018 draft but elected to stay after talking with former Wisconsin and Browns tackle Joe Thomas. Playing quarterback for three seasons in high school allowed Edwards to see the game from a broader prospective.
“I had the opportunity to learn all the defensive fronts and coverages and their responsibilities. So I think in that respect for me as an offensive lineman seeing safety rotations, to pick up pressures, and defensive fronts definitely helped me in that respect.”
Eventually, Edwards beefed up to 245 to 250 pounds while playing quarterback running the split back veer, which is the old University of Houston option offense. He started his Wisconsin career as a tight end and insists he had very good hands.
Edwards is a smart player with good feet and uses his length and hand placement to disrupt the timing of opposing pass rushers. His first scholarship was to play quarterback at the University of Illinois, but most schools recruited him as a tight end. Edwards grew up a Bears fan and his favorite player was Hunter Hillenmeyer, because he liked his name, of all things.
Fourth and short
When the Bears host the Dallas Cowboys next season at Soldier Field, there is a chance it will be in a prime time slot and they will be seeing Jason Witten back at tight end. The future Hall of Fame tight end re-signed with the Cowboys for a reported $5 million for 2019. Although he retired from the NFL last May to join the Monday Night Football booth, he considered a return for his 16th season for some time.
“The fire inside of me to compete and play this game is just burning too strong,” Witten said in a statement. “This team has a great group of rising young stars, and I want to help them make a run at a championship. This was completely my decision, and I am very comfortable with it. I’m looking forward to getting back in the dirt.”
Witten has 1,152 career receptions, which ranks fourth in NFL history. His 12,448 receiving yards trails only Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.
With Dak Prescott at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield, Amari Cooper at receiver and now Witten back at tight end, the Cowboys offense is fueled up to pair with an already strong defense.