Quick impact from Forte at minicamp
Matt Forte gathered with his family Wednesday night at Zea Cafe, a restaurant in New Orleans, celebrating the beginning of a journey he's not making alone.
The Bears' second-round draft pick huddled with those closest to him the night before traveling to Lake Forest for rookie minicamp, a trip that not only fulfills his dream but the dreams of those around him.
His father, Gene, was a captain and defensive tackle at Tulane in the mid-1970s. Older brother Bryan was a linebacker and two-year starter at McNeese State. Their goals of playing professionally never were realized, dashed by injuries. Gene had three knee surgeries. Bryan broke his right leg in three places as a freshman in 2002. Two years later, he suffered a serious knee injury.
''We're sort of living through him,'' Bryan said. ''I'm just proud he's made it. I'll be able to experience it through him. This was his dream coming true since he was little. I had the same dream.''
If there was a wow factor to the first practice Friday, it was Forte. The 6-2, 222-pounder looks the part, as real as it gets in shells and shorts. The burst he ran with was legitimate. The Bears selected Forte from Tulane with the 44th pick, passing on a chance to grab quarterbacks Chad Henne of Michigan or Brian Brohm of Louisville, to fix a broken-down running game. Had the Bears skipped him, the Detroit Lions were poised to grab him with the next choice.
Forte is something the Bears didn't have on the roster -- a three-down back. That's one of the things running backs coach Tim Spencer kept coming back to when evaluating him against others. Forte has the size to run between the tackles and quickness to do all the other things inherent to the position.
Spencer was an assistant coach at his alma mater Ohio State for 10 seasons and knows a little something about Buckeyes running backs. He ranks third on the school's all-time list behind Archie Griffin and Eddie George. Spencer said Forte has better feet and body control for a big man than George, who played at 6-3, 235 pounds. George ran for 10,441 yards as a pro.
There were questions about how some of the top backs in the draft projected to the NFL after playing in unconventional college offenses. But Forte's stock rose dramatically playing in Bob Toledo's pro-style attack last season. He finished second in the nation with 2,127 yards rushing to go with 23 touchdowns. His production in Chris Scelfo's spread-option attack was pedestrian for his first three seasons and certainly wasn't going to bring great attention to him playing for a bad team in Conference USA.
It didn't take Toledo long to see what he had. Forte was recovering from minor surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Toledo watched him rehab in the spring and held him out of contract drills in the summer. He knew Forte was his best player, and he referenced a line of backs he has worked with previously, starting with Charles White, Ricky Bell and Marcus Allen at USC and DeShaun Foster at UCLA.
''The one thing is he can do it all,'' Toledo said when asked what he liked most about Forte's game. ''He's an all-purpose back. He runs inside with power, he's got quickness, he's got speed, he's got balance, he can catch the ball extremely well. He can even throw the football. He's the total package.
''I could tell that he had a lot of physical ability, but I really didn't know how tough he would be and how durable he would be. But I saw him do a lot of things. I've been around football 40 years, coaching. I've had an opportunity to coach a bunch of people. This guy is really talented. I'm just telling you he is going to make a lot of people happy.''
As much as Toledo is going to miss the player, he's going to miss the person. A day after being drafted, Forte attended the Tulane football banquet last Sunday with his parents.
''You know, he didn't have to do that,'' Toledo said.
The next day he was at the school to work out -- twice. Forte went through conditioning exercises in the morning and was back in the afternoon to take part in drills with former teammates. That's the same dogged work ethic that has made his sprints in the middle of the night a popular story. Bryan was home from school after his freshman season. It was late -- after midnight -- and he heard footsteps racing up and down the concrete outside their home in Slidell, La. Back and forth. He went outside and found his younger brother running sprints preparing for his senior season in high school.
''Those stories are all true,'' Bryan said. ''It would be 1 o'clock in the morning, and you'd hear Matt, running from stop sign to stop sign, the whole block. If he was up and there was nothing to do, he'd be working out. He worked that hard.''
A productive senior season in high school didn't bring more attention to Forte, who longed to play in the SEC or Big 12. Nearby Tulane was the only Division I-A school to offer him a scholarship. Now, he's being viewed as a potential savior for an offense badly in need.
Forte deflected talk of starting, saying ''competition is going to make each and every one of the running backs better.'' He's treading lightly where Cedric Benson might have stomped three years ago.
''Matt will end up starting for the Bears as a rookie,'' Toledo said. ''Absolutely. That's how good he is. This kid is going to be special.''
To a family back home, he already is special.
''A lot of people's dream is to play NFL football,'' Forte said. ''I thank God I am blessed enough to be a part of this organization. Yeah, I am playing for them and myself.''