CB Kevin Toliver vows to be ‘different beast,’ but Bears have short leash

SHARE CB Kevin Toliver vows to be ‘different beast,’ but Bears have short leash
bears_rookie_camp_football_76156711.jpg

Bears cornerback Kevin Toliver II catches a ball during rookie minicamp Friday. (AP)

Cornerback Kevin Toliver was one of the stars Friday of the rookie minicamp — before suffering a hamstring injury during an interception that limited him Saturday.

RELATED STORIES ‘Grind’ and grunts: How Bears WR Anthony Miller is already exuding attitude The Bears’ big bet on G James Daniels is also one on their offensive line guru

Still, it was a promising start for the undrafted free agent. His 6-2, 192-pound frame looks like that of an NFL star — as does his five-star rating out of high school.

Toliver left LSU early despite expert opinions telling him he shouldn’t. Questions about his character meant he went undrafted.

“Even if I would’ve gone first round, I still would’ve been hungry, but going undrafted, that just made me hungrier,” he said. “They’re going to get a different beast out of me than they saw at LSU.”

If not, he won’t last long. The Bears have been honest with Toliver and others with character concerns: They have no room for error.

“If you tell them that,’’ coach Matt Nagy said, ‘‘then they have ownership, and they respect it, and if they blow the opportunity, they blow the opportunity. That’s not on us. No matter who it is, we’re going to let them know they have a clean slate. We’re going to give them every opportunity to shine. We want success stories. We want happy stories. We want steals of the draft. That’s what we want.”

Olin back

Two days after having seven alums — Steve McMichael, Alex Brown, Jay Hilgenberg, Charles Tillman, Marcus Robinson, Charles Tillman, Bob Wetoska and James “Big Cat” Williams — speak to their rookies, the Bears welcomed former center Olin Kreutz to practice.

“Any knowledge that they can get from Olin, we’ll take,” Nagy said. “Whether it’s him just observing or giving ideas, suggestions, they’re going to take it.”

Excused

Fourth-round pick Joel Iyiegbuniwe was excused from practice to return to Western Kentucky, Nagy said. The inside linebacker practiced Friday before leaving town.

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.