Nobody will ever accuse Northern Illinois University of being a hotbed for NFL talent. However, over the past few years, the program has managed to deliver some interesting prospects to the professional level on the defensive side of the ball. Since 2009, four of their players would end up being drafted including two in the 1st round. Larry English played a few seasons in San Diego while Jimmie Ward just appeared in the Super Bowl with San Francisco. Thus far the Chicago Bears haven’t dabbled on that side of the ball from NIU.
A bit of a surprise considering the program is in their backyard.
Could that change in 2020? Maybe. Word from Justin Melo of The Draft Wire is the Bears have been watching and in contact with Huskies safety Marshe Terry during their prep leading up to the draft. Terry spent three seasons at Connecticut before transferring to NIU in 2019 where he started nine games. While his production is unremarkable, it’s not hard to see why the Bears are interested in him.
He’s 6’4 and 220 lbs playing safety. That stands out.
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Terry looks like a Chicago Bears UDFA target
The thing to remember here is the Bears aren’t just focusing all their efforts on who they will take in the draft. While that takes priority, teams often live or die by how well they can manage on the undrafted free agent market. Score enough hits there and that tends to make good teams great. It feels like Terry is the sort of intriguing physical talent Chicago will want to bring in for training camp.
There is no question the kid is viewed as a project. A slab of clay for coaches to meld. His college results don’t reflect a player who will thrive at the NFL level. In four seasons he did not record a single interception or a sack. His single splash play was a forced fumble back in 2017. So it’s fair to question what kind of instinct and feel he has for the game of football. That is something the Bears will want to explore should he decide to try out for them.
