Chicago signed free agent rookie center Luke Butkus today. He's an Illinois grad and the nephew of Dick Butkus. I swear, the good ol days are coming back to the Windy City.
Butkus is OK but he's athletically limited, and for the most part is just another undersized scrappy center save for his name. I wish him well because all that's really cool - and I admit I've tried to keep an eye on Jarret Payton - but I dunno if he'll make the roster.
Luke is undersized (6'1" 285 or so), but he is one tough little bastard!
What's the deal w/ Jarret Payton anyway? How many years does he have left, seems like he should have used up his eligibility by now.
No matter what he does, the Bears will draft him as a sign of respect to the Payton's and what Walter meant to the organization. That is my prediction.
I meant Butkus, re: roster. Payton I don't know about but it seems like a lot of backs have come and gone from Miami with productive careers - Edge, Jackson, Portis, Davenport, and I haven't seen JP get much playing time. So I don't know what'll become of him.
He only started playing football after his dad got sick. That was his Sr. year. He was an all American soccer player befroe that. I know he got 2 redshirt years somehow (I think it had something to do with an injury off the filed or something, Or maybe he completely sat out a year, I don't remember). Last I heard he's still on the team and has plenty of raw skill, just still learning the position. I think this is his last year of elligibility though. I'm sure he'll end up with some team, if only for name recognition.