BOURBONNAIS — Elliott Fry was the star of training camp Saturday, making eight-straight field goals, including one from 60 yards, after missing a 33-yarder on his first attempt.
Eddy Piñeiro, his competition, didn’t attempt a single kick. Sunday, the roles will be reversed. The Bears have decided to have each man kick on alternating days. The Bears will stick to that schedule, head coach Matt Nagy said, regardless of weather, the length of practice or any other mitigating factors.
Nagy, who said the rotating was special teams coordinator Chris Tabor’s idea, compared field goal kicking to free throws. When kids at a basketball camp shoot free throws, he said, they don’t want to have to wait for seven others to shoot before they get another attempt.
“Being in a rhythm, it’s like playing golf, right? … ” Nagy said. “So he got in a rhythm and he did great.”
He did so in front of 8,385 fans at Olivet Nazarene University — which, Nagy said, made the team’s “Augusta Silence” on the backfields of Halas Hall seem easy.
“It was a pretty good day for our kicker,” Nagy said.
Cornerback Prince Amukamara even hugged Fry after the 60-yarder.
“If I felt personally that a position wasn’t secured or wasn’t proven, I’m like, ‘Man, if a team figures out that this is our weak spot or whatever,’ then I go in a little unsettled,” Amukamara said. “But I trust our management, I trust our coaches and our scouts that they’ll get it taken care of. And I do feel like we have a kicker here on our team.”
Slingshot ride?
Nagy probably won’t be riding shotgun in running back Tarik Cohen’s three-wheeled Polaris Slingshot at any point in training camp. Nagy didn’t seem thrilled by the choice in vehicle and might have a slightly different definition of safe driving than Cohen.
They had a little conversation about it, but Cohen’s version was only that Nagy thought it was cool.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cohen said. “He told me he admired the car. He thinks he’s gonna get one himself. That’s what he said.”
There is no chance whatsoever that’s what he said.
Cohen claimed there’s no reason to worry, though, seeing as how he has the self-proclaimed, “best driving skills in the Midwest.”
This and that
• Receiver Riley Ridley, who hurt his hamstring Friday, is more week-to-week than day-to-day, Nagy said. The coach said he was “not overly concerned” but is “always cautious” with muscle injuries.
• Rookie receiver Emanuel Hall didn’t practice because of a sore groin. He had groin surgery this offseason.
• Receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert (hamstring) and cornerback Jonathon Mincy (groin) didn’t practice.
Jason Lieser contributed to this report.
