May 11--This is the eighth in our series of conversations with each Bears draft pick's college coaches.
For Bears general manager Ryan Pace to succeed in making the draft the lifeblood of the organization, he must form an annual habit of finding late-round contributors. The Bears sense they have one in William Mary free safety and special teams ace DeAndre Houston-Carson.
The Bears believe Houston-Carson can at least be a standout on special teams. And judging from what William Mary defensive backs coach Trey Henderson recently told the Tribune about Houston-Carson's work ethic and ability to adapt as a player, the Bears will be optimistic he can be more than that.
Here are the highlights of Henderson's Q
What distinguished DeAndre at William Mary?
Henderson: "He was a great leader. He had a first-guy-in, last-guy-out type of mentality. He was probably one of the harder working guys I've ever been around. He's a high-effort kid. You're going to get everything you possibly can out of him. That's just the way he's wired. You have to tell him to stop. ... Sometimes in practice we had to take his helmet away just to stop him, or take his cleats and hide them just so he wouldn't do something. That's the kind of guy you're getting. He's as blue collar as they come. He should fit right in there in the Windy City."
How do you see his intelligence carry over to the field?
"Obviously you've got to be pretty bright to get in (William Mary). He's got a high football IQ. He played multiple positions. He played corner for three years. Senior year, the selfless type of player he is, for the betterment of the team he moved to free safety. This is a returning all-conference (Colonial Athletic Association) corner that made a move for the team. And he was able to just pick up and keep going. He has a feel for the game, and that's one of those things that's hard to coach. He just has a knack for being around the ball. He's not a "rep" guy. A lot of the questions we got in the (pre-draft) process -- how many reps does he need? He doesn't really need a whole lot of reps. Once, maybe see it on the board. But he's a cerebral player, takes everything in. He just works at it."
His tackling numbers stand out. Why has he been such an effective tackler?
"Well, that's one thing we challenged him (about) when he moved from corner to safety. We said, 'You've got to be physical and be able to tackle. That's the one thing that you're going to get tested (on), early especially. They're going to run at you.' He accepted that challenge. He really wanted to make sure he strengthened his legs in the offseason before his senior year. He also gained about 10 pounds just to make sure he could take on the punishment of playing safety."
You mentioned his feel for the game. Did you see that in how he tracked the ball? The angles he took to a ball carrier or when it was in the air?
"Yes. He made one of the greatest plays I've ever seen. It was in practice. He was in the middle of the field, and our quarterback threw a ball -- it was at least 70 yards. He was in the middle of the field, went outside the numbers and went up and caught the ball over the receiver as a free safety. That's next-level. After seeing that, there was no doubt in my mind he was going to be drafted."
How do you think he'll fare playing the slot and covering tight ends?
"I think he'll be up for the challenge. He will not turn anything down. He's an extremely competitive kid. That's good and bad because he can be his own worst critic. ... He wants to do things right the first time. And if it's not done the way he was taught, or the way it's supposed to be done, he'll work at it until it's right."
What allowed him to really shine for you on special teams?
"He has a knack for blocking kicks. It's really because of his effort. .. That's why he blocked nine kicks in his career. People had to know where he was at all times. And he would make tackles on kickoff of punt. He played all (units) but kickoff return for us all four years."
Did he come off the edge for you to block kicks?
"For field goals, yes, he was coming off the edge. On punts, he'd usually try to get away, and we'd free him up the middle. A few times he played the edge, depending on the scheme we were seeing and when it was time to time it up. But generally it was off the edge. Every now and then we'd shoot him up the middle."
rcampbell@tribpub.com
