The Chicago Bears have found great players from all parts of the United States. They range from the east coast of New York to the arid southwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the far north of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yet for all that vast space, it appears the franchise has a habit of finding good players in the same relative areas from time to time. Is Dazz Newsome about to further one such tradition?
It’s hard not to feel that way after learning the history of where he comes from. Sean Hammond of Shaw Media spoke to the Bears 6th round pick’s former high school football coach Mike Smith. The man has held his position for 50 years. So he has seen a lot of football players come and go during that time. Not just for his team but others as well. It turns out this includes some highly notable future Bears.
“There’s a winning tradition at Hampton and Smith has been a part of it as long as anyone. He became the head coach in 1971 and has won 12 state championships. Mention the Chicago Bears to Smith and he’ll drop names from the Hampton area that go way back: Shaun Gayle played at rival Bethel High School (and for the Bears from 1984-1994) and Bennie McRae went to the now closed Huntington High School (and played for the Bears from 1962-1970).”
That is quite a roll call.
McRae attended high school in Newport News, Virginia. A mere 14-minute drive from Hampton. He became a 2nd round pick for them in 1962. During their championship run in 1963, he collected six interceptions. During his nine seasons in Chicago, he had 27 in total and was named All-Pro once. Probably one of the forgotten really good players in Bears history. No doubt because of the ridiculous number of stars he played with on that defense.
Gayle is an even better story. Nobody expected much of him as a 10th round pick in 1984. He spent the first four seasons of his career as a primarily special teams ace. His recovery of a muffed punt in the 1985 divisional playoff win over the Giants being his big highlight. Then in 1988, he cracked the starting lineup as a safety. From there he went on to become a Pro Bowler. Gayle produced four seasons of over 100 tackles and collected 14 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles.
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So yeah. That area of Virginia has been good to Chicago.
Dazz Newsome has a chance to chart his own path
Unlike McRae and Gayle, he’s not a defensive back. He’ll be seeing if he can make contributions on the offensive side. The young receiver is already making noise. He was reportedly sharp in rookie minicamps and demonstrated a strong connection with fellow rookie Justin Fields. That should serve him well as things continue to unfold. Imagine how cool it would be if he ends up being a success.
Three different players from three different eras all coming from the same area of the same state to become standout Bears. The NFL is a crazy place. Dazz Newsome is an easy guy to root for. He came up through a tough neighborhood and managed to maintain a likable, outgoing personality. His Waffle House rant during his first official press conference has already made him a fan favorite.
The best may be yet to come.
He has a long way to go. The wide receiver position appears stacked with competition this year with fellow new arrivals like Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd vying for spots. Not to mention Anthony Miller is still around. Newsome’s best shot to make an early impact is in the punt return game. Chicago may wish to keep Tarik Cohen away from that after what happened with his ACL injury last year. It’ll be exciting to watch him develop.