Khalil Herbert isn’t going to garner a ton of attention in rookie minicamps. Not like Justin Fields or Dazz Newsome. This is because running backs won’t get attention until the pads are on. There is also the fact he’s a 6th round pick on top of it. So the young man won’t be hogging much spotlight over these next four months. That being said, it doesn’t make the kid any less interesting.
One story that generated some buzz took place back in 2019. Herbert was entering his fourth season at Kansas. Things didn’t seem amiss through the first four games. Then all of a sudden, the running back stepped away from the team. As it turns out he’d decided to redshirt the remainder of the season, intending to enter the transfer portal. That was how he ended up at Virginia Tech. Ever since then people haven’t been entirely clear on what drove Herbert’s decision to abruptly leave Kansas two years ago.
He explained during his first appearance with the Bears media.
It’s important to remember that Herbert had spent the previous three years at Kansas as little more than a reserve back who got occasional carries. Then in his first game of 2019, he is the primary back, running for 88 yards on 17 carries in a Jayhawks win. Then he’s once again relegated to a reserve role the next three weeks behind Pooka Williams. Seeing that, it’s easier to understand.
Herbert likely reached his breaking point. He realized he was never going to get the opportunity to start by staying at Kansas. So he took back control of his career and decided to transfer to Virginia Tech. His first and only year there, he started and ended up compiling 1,792 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns. His biggest highlight being a 162-yard rampage of rival Virginia in the season finale.
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The best part? Herbert was drafted in the 6th round. Williams, the man who started above him at Kansas wasn’t drafted at all.
Khalil Herbert is back at the bottom of the mountain though
He faces a steep climb to get playing time on this Bears roster. David Montgomery is locked in as the starter. Tarik Cohen is returning from his ACL injury and now Super Bowl hero Damien Williams joins the mix. That means Herbert will be battling Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce for what could likely be the last spot on the active roster. Is the rookie concerned about this? Not exactly. He believes he may have an edge over those other guys.
“Kick return is something I pride myself on and I know it can affect the game to start out drives and help the offense to get field position.”
He’s got a point.
The Bears have a big vacancy at kick returner following the departure of Cordarrelle Patterson in free agency. Khalil Herbert proved last year he can handle that job, piling up 430 yards on 16 returns. While not blazing fast, his mixture of acceleration and good vision enables him to find openings others might miss. The probably one of the big reasons the Bears liked him in the first place. If he shows out in training camp, he’ll get his opportunity soon enough.