‘A personal challenge’: Bears coach Matt Nagy eager to work with WR Kevin White

SHARE ‘A personal challenge’: Bears coach Matt Nagy eager to work with WR Kevin White
bears_white_football_71169734.jpg

The Beras didn’t pick up Kevin White’s fifth-year option. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — Before receiver Kevin White shared a shirtless picture of himself flexing in Hawaii on social media, he sent it to his younger brother Ka’Raun, who is participating in the NFL Scouting Combine.

“He was like, ‘What’cha you think?’ ” Ka’Raun said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘You’re looking like something, but you don’t have me yet.’ It’s everything we do. We compete. Who has got the better body? Who is stronger? Everything.”

Three years ago at this time, Kevin White starred in the combine, running the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.35 seconds. Weeks later, the Bears made him the seventh pick in the 2015 draft.

RELATED STORIES Why Nagy’s offense will be aggressive Should the Bears take Calvin Ridley?

“I was actually in Lackawanna Junior College watching downstairs in our computer lab,” said Ka’Raun, a receiver. “We [were] in shock. We jumped up screaming, yelling when we [saw] his 40 time. It was a good time.”

This year, White is cheering on Ka’Raun and his other brother, Kyzir, a cornerback, who also is taking part in the combine.

Both brothers followed White to Lackawanna in Scranton, Pennsylvania, then to West Virginia. Kyzir is projected to be a Day 2 selection. Ka’Raun led all receivers with 24 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press but is considered a late-round pick or priority free agent.

The White brothers are nearing their dream of being in the NFL at the same time.

“It’s something we wanted since we [were] little kids, and to be in this situation, to actually make our dreams come true, is pretty incredible,” Ka’Raun said.

Meanwhile, the Bears still are trying to figure out what to expect from White. Receiver is a priority for the organization in free agency and the draft, but the plan is to give White one more chance after serious injuries limited him to only five games in three seasons.

“Kevin is a guy you see who hasn’t had a lot of games these past few years,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “We understand that, but for me, that’s the challenge as a head coach.

‘‘You love to see those kinds of situations. You don’t make any promises that anything’s going to happen. But you see a kid like that, you know his road and where he’s at, and I look at that as a personal challenge to get him to a place where we want to get him.”

Ka’Raun is predicting that White will “shock the world” much like he did three years ago at the combine.

“He’s still humble, hungry and wants to prove everybody wrong,” he said. “A lot of people are saying he’s a bust, he’s glass, he’s this. But he [doesn’t] let all that get to his head. He’s still working every day. Rehabbing. He’ll bounce back.”

Follow me on Twitter @adamjahns.

Email: ajahns@suntimes.com

The Latest
NFL
Here’s where all the year’s top rookies are heading for the upcoming NFL season.
Pinder, the last original member of the band, sang and played keyboards, as well as organ, piano and harpsichord. He founded the British band in 1964 with Laine, Ray Thomas, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge.
Students linked arms and formed a line against police after Northwestern leaders said the tent encampment violated university policy. By 9 p.m. protest leaders were told by university officials that arrests could begin later in the evening.
NFL
McCarthy, who went to Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park before starring at Michigan, will now play for the Bears’ rivals in Minnesota.
In a surprise, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top ally — the Chicago Teachers Union — was also critical of the district’s lack of transparency and failure to prioritize classroom aides in the budget, even though the union has long supported a shift toward needs-based funding.