For now, football's first for Chicago Bears hopeful Braunecker

World-class goofball Joe Don Looney, a talented but underachieving running back for the Baltimore Colts in the 1960s, once was asked about his plans for the off-season.

"I have a paper route lined up," he said.

Harvard tight end Ben Braunecker, who was signed by the Chicago Bears after going undrafted last month, has a better fallback option.

"I still have aspirations to be a doctor, post football," said the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Braunecker. "So thankfully I have something to fall back on if this doesn't work out for me."

Specifically, Braunecker's medical interests lie in the area of research-based infectious diseases.

"It's what I love, my passion," said Braunecker, who has worked at a mitochondrial protein regulatory lab the past two summers in preparation.

But for now football's first for Braunecker, who caught 48 passes for 850 yards, 17.7 yards per catch and 8 touchdowns last season from the Crimson playing H-back, which prioritizes the pass-catching aspect of the tight end position.

It was a breakout season for the former high school valedictorian, who didn't enroll at Harvard with an NFL career in mind. "You don't go to Harvard to be a professional football player," Braunecker said. "I just did that because it was the best educational opportunity for me and the best of both worlds, really, because while I was there we won three straight Ivy League championships."

It wasn't until he was nearing the conclusion of his Harvard career that he considered the possibility of playing at the next level. After not playing as a freshman, Braunecker had modest numbers the next two seasons, catching just 20 passes for 318 yards and 2 touchdowns.

But he got a vote of confidence from Harvard coach Tim Murphy after spring ball preceding his final season.

"He told me I had the skills to make it on the next level, but I really had to commit and dedicate myself," Braunecker said. "So that's what I did."

He punctuated his final season with an impressive performance at the NFL Scouting Combine. Braunecker ran an 11.32-second 60-yard shuttle and a 1.59-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash, both of which were best among all tight ends, and he had a 35½-inch vertical jump.

Still, he was ignored in the draft.

"Projections had me anywhere from (rounds) 4-6, and I sat there on for about seven hours on my couch with an ESPN camera in my face watching every pick go by," he said. "That definitely puts a chip on my shoulder. I want to make this team. I'm driven to make this team."

With Martellus Bennett traded away, Zach Miller is the Bears' clear-cut starting tight end with an uncertain depth chart behind him. In other words, an ideal situation for an undrafted rookie.

"I think a nice, strong, reliable, (split-) wide tight end is what the Bears are looking for right now," Braunecker said. "So I'm just very thankful to be given the opportunity."

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.