Bears' Carimi exactly where he wanted to be
Bears first-round pick Gabe Carimi isn't taking back one word of what he said at the Scouting Combine two months ago when he claimed he was the best offensive tackle in the draft.
“What am I going to say?” Carimi said Saturday morning at Halas Hall. “That I don't think I'm the best tackle or (I'm) not going to be the best tackle? No. I assume almost any tackle would feel confident in their own game.”
Four offensive tackles were drafted before the Bears jumped at the chance to take the Wisconsin All-American at No. 29. The match seems to be ideal between the 6-foot-7, 314-pound Carimi and the blocking-challenged Bears, who allowed more sacks than any NFL team last season.
“I'm more than happy,” Carimi said. “This is exactly where I wanted to be. If you ask any of my close friends, I told them (when they asked me), ‘Where do you fit best, or where do you think you want to go?' I told them that I wanted to be a Bear.”
Carimi started at left tackle from Day One of his redshirt freshman year at Wisconsin, the first of his 49 starts. The Bears probably can't afford to grant Carimi a redshirt season, so expectations are that he will start as a rookie.
“That's up to the coaching staff,” he said. “As long as I play hard, I'm going to try to get a starting role. But that all depends on how well I play.”
Offensive line coach Mike Tice sees Carimi as a tackle, although some have projected him to guard. He has been described as a Mike Tice-kind of guy: an aggressive, tough, physical player with a mean streak.
“I absolutely agree that I'm a tough player,” Carimi said. “I'm going to play physical. The O-line here is tough. I'm going to hopefully play with them, and we will have a nastiness to our O-line.”
Tice says Carimi will be an ideal addition to the group.
“He'll bring everything that we're looking to bring to the offensive line room,“ Tice said, “toughness, intelligence, size. He's a solid athlete; maybe not a great athlete, but a solid athlete.”
The Bears began last season as a pass-happy offense but didn't find success until they trended more toward the run. Either way is fine with their newest offensive lineman.
“I'll fit into this program perfectly,” he said. “They don't have to fit to my game. I'm going to cater toward them. When we need to pass the ball, we'll pass it. When we need to run it, we'll run it. I'm just looking forward to making an impact on this team.”
But, with the lockout back in effect, Carimi is left to prepare on his own to become a successful professional. For now he'll return to Madison to work with other Badgers offensive linemen, as he had been doing leading up to the draft. His goal won't be just to maintain the level he's achieved but to get better.
“There are only two options,” he said. “You never can stay consistent. Improvement is the only way to go. I have a hunger to try to succeed at whatever I do. That's the objective; to be the best Bear offensive lineman I can be.”
He'll also have to exorcise any remnants of the Packers fan he became growing up near Madison.
“I've (seen the) error of my ways,” he said. “I've sinned and repented, so I'm good now. I've seen the light.”
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