Luke Newman says Ben Johnson is "the ultimate competitor"

Photo courtesy: MSU

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - 12 hours ago

CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears have yet another offensive lineman. After trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson in the offseason, signing center Drew Dalman and drafting offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo in the second round.

The Bears added another offensive lineman in the sixth round - Luke Newman out of Michigan State.

“It’s a very unique and special moment that I really have (gratitude) … I’m almost at a loss for words for a moment quite like this," Newman told the media. I’ve seen it happen before. I’ve been to a draft party (for) a friend of mine last year and seen him go through it. But, to actually experience and just be blessed to have an opportunity in a franchise that believes in your abilities and is willing to have you grow and develop as a person (and) a player in their building, that’s special,” Newman said. “A lot of those people in that office have invested a lot in me, just to hear my name called and I can’t wait to deliver it back to them and give them all I have.”

Newman spent his first three seasons with Holy Cross where he played at left tackle. When he transferred to Michigan State, he moved to left guard.

When participating in the Shrine Bowl, Newman had the chance to play at multiple positions which highlighted his versatility as a player.

“I was able to find a lot of success at Holy Cross, even playing tackle and able to hang on the outside and be really successful out there and then moving into the inside. It was really just more the same, just emphasizing where I got to put my hands and you get on guys a little faster than you do at tackle,” Newman said. “Obviously, a lot happens quite fast when you’re playing on the interior. But, same thing always goes. I just naturally take pride in having quick hands and technique in that area and it’s something that I can always improve upon and great better at and it’s always been a critique for me for a handful of years now.”

During the draft process, Newman got the chance to meet Chicago’s head coach, Ben Johnson. Playing in Michigan, he was more exposed to Johnson’s offensive success with the Detroit Lions.

Meeting Johnson, Newman saw just how much of a competitor he is.

“He’s a competitor. He loves to win. He loves to grind,” Newman said. “He is just the ultimate competitor and really someone that you would really hope is your coach and I’m just really excited to play for that guy and he’s had a lot of success in Detroit and I think he’ll carry that over big time here in Chicago.”

Between all of Chicago’s new additions on the offensive line along with some of the players they kept such as Darnell Wright, there should be a lot of competition on the offensive line. With all this competition, it seems like this line should have a strong run-blocking ability. However, there is some question about who they will be blocking.

The running back position was one of Chicago’s most pressing needs and in a draft class like this one with plenty of talented running backs, it was a prime opportunity for the Bears to address this need. However, they ended up not drafting a running back until the seventh round when they selected Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers with the No. 223 overall pick.

While the Bears may have waited until the final round to draft a back to go with D’Andre Swift, Monangai seems like a promising prospect. He was a starter for three seasons with Rutgers and this past season, he was First-Team All-Big Ten. It marked his second straight season with at least 1,200 rushing yards and at least eight rushing touchdowns.

In his entire career, Monanagai has never fumbled.

“Protecting the football as an offensive player, anybody that carried it was the number one thing,” Monangai said. “So, the way you see me carrying the ball throughout my whole college career, that’s something that was preached, something that I worked hard on, grip strength with hands and things of that nature. So, ball security definitely means a lot and having zero career fumbles is something I definitely say with pride.”

As someone drafted in the seventh round, there is also a good possibility Monangai may get his first snaps in the NFL by playing special teams. This is something he is entirely open to, especially since he played on special teams during college.

“I started my career in college on special teams. So, it’s not anything that I’m (unfamiliar) with and I think at the end of the day, I’m a football player. You have an assignment, you have a job, you got to get it done whether that’s on punt block, kickoff, kick return, I know it’s different in the league, so that’s something I’ll have to learn and get well adjusted to. But, I think I can translate very well (in) all facets of the special teams game.”

Monangai was Chicago’s last pick of the draft to give the Bears a total of eight selections. This also marks the fourth time in the past five years Chicago has selected a running back on the final day of the draft.