The Senior Bowl doesn’t quite get the same attention as other off-season activities in the NFL. It’s hard to say why. Perhaps it’s because the event doesn’t feature all the top talent eligible for the draft. Only the senior class. At the same time, it’s proven most beneficial to the Chicago Bears in the past. Names like Walter Payton, Brian Urlacher, and Lance Briggs came to Halas Hall via there. The most recent gem the franchise found though was Matt Forte.
Prior to the game itself, Forte was known mostly as a productive runner out of Tulane. He had big stats to be sure. Yet there were skeptics. Many felt he’d merely feasted on lesser competition. The moment he ran into the better talent he’d be set straight. The Senior Bowl was the perfect opportunity for them to get proven right.
Then Forte was MVP of the game. He ran for 59 yards and caught four passes for 38 more. It was quite a performance, one that former Bears GM Jerry Angelo will never forget. He explained the entire events that transpired down there in 2008 and how it remains the most memorable showing he ever saw.
Matt Forte Senior Bowl propelled him to Chicago in the draft
Up until traveling down to Mobile that year, Angelo really didn’t have any thoughts about Forte. He’d heard a few stories but nothing that piqued his interest. That swiftly changed.
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“Yes, Matt Forte. Matt played in a weak conference [Conference USA]. He amassed over 2,000 yards in his senior season, which was almost unheard of. Chris Johnson had played in the same conference and did similar things, as well as Kevin Smith. All three of these running backs were prolific producers for their respective schools, but I felt it could have been because of the poor competition.
When we got to the Senior Bowl, we watched Matt perform during individual drills and in all the team drills, as well as the game. We were very impressed. The way he handled himself, you could see he belonged and was one of the very best players of all the top seniors coming out in that draft. Matt interviewed extremely well. He was confident, but not arrogant. He was bright and was very driven to be a great player.
You could tell after talking to him and watching him during the week this guy had a chance to be special. Chris Ballard, our area scout at the time and now the general manager of the Colts, loved Matt and beat a drum for him every day we were down there in Mobile. We joked that we drafted him just to shut up Chris.”
Seems Ballard knew what he was talking about. Forte became the offensive focal point for the Bears over the next seven years. He would compile over 12,000 yards from scrimmage, scoring 64 touchdowns and even set an NFL record for receptions by a running back in a season with 102 in 2014. Many believe he’s deserving of Hall of Fame consideration. Just imagine. None of that would’ve happened had Angelo not seen it for himself at the Senior Bowl.
