Undrafted Chicago Bears WR Chris Summers Generating Buzz in OTAs

If the players and coaches of the Chicago Bears had their way, the only story about the team's wide receivers that we would be talking about during OTAs would be yet another attempt by the team to prove that Devin Hester can be a good NFL wide receiver.

While the comments about Hester have been common and unanimous enough to make one think that there's a conspiracy theory to prop up Hester's profile, the lack of talk about undrafted wide receiver Chris Summers should also raise eyebrows.

Adam Hoge of CBS 2 Chicago commented that he "continues to be impressed" by Summers.

According to Hoge, all Summers does is "make plays," and the rookie has "the size and speed" to play in the NFL.

Summers' measurables are indeed impressive: At 6'5" and 215 pounds, his 4.58 40 time makes him a comparable player to a more ballyhooed rookie, second-round pick Alshon Jeffery.

So who is this player that NFL Draft Scout didn't even rank in its top 600 draft-eligible players? 

Summers peaked as a junior in 2010, catching 15 touchdowns on his way to winning the College Football Performance Award as the best wide receiver at the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) level.

Like most lanky receivers, his weaknesses are a lack of quick get-off at the line of scrimmage and a lack of suddenness in his breaks.

He does, though, have sure hands and a huge catch radius. His my-ball mentality comes from his basketball experience, including one year on the team at Liberty.

Here's what his starting quarterback at Liberty, Mike Brown, had to say about Summers' approach when the ball is in the air:

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“He wants the ball every single play. When you throw it to him, it’s his ball in the air. He’s going to go up and he’s going to attack it and he’s going to bring it down. Nobody else is going to take that ball from him.”

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Summers was originally committed to Louisville, but became disillusioned with the recruiting process, according to Chris Lang of the The News & Advance, out of Lynchburg, Va. 

Summers had to be talked into playing football over basketball by Liberty receivers coach Charlie Skalaski. Skalaski argued that Summers' size would be much rarer on the football field than it is on the basketball court.

Summers listened, and now he's on the cusp on making a bid to play in the NFL.