Bears’ Martz likes Enderle’s QB potential
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz found a lot to like about Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle when he worked him out before the draft — enough that the Bears made him their fifth-round pick (160 overall).
“Coach Martz had a real strong conviction on him, and we agreed with the traits that he saw,” Bears director of player personnel Tim Ruskell said. “This guy looks good coming off the bus. He has the attributes, he has the traits that Mike’s looking for at the position, so it was a good consensus.
“He’s a big guy, he’s got a very strong arm, he’s a very intelligent man, and an intelligent quarterback. He didn’t have the stats senior year, (because they) lost a lot of guys from the year before. Coach Martz really kind of fell for the kid in terms of the intangibles that he brings.”
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Enderle was a four-year starter who struggled along with the Vandals’ program, going 17-29 as a starter. After completing 61.5 percent of his throws as a junior with 22 TD passes and just 9 interceptions to lead the Vandals to an 8-5 record, Enderle completed just 56.7 percent of his throws last season with 22 TDs and 16 interceptions. The Vandals’ 2009 season was their first winning campaign in 11 years.
Enderle doesn’t figure to see much playing time in the foreseeable future playing behind Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie, but he can use that down time to his advantage.
“It’s going to be different, but it’s going to be good for me,” he said. “I can really work on fixing some things that I want to fix and that need to be fixed, and that’s going to give me the opportunity to do that. And then to really come in and learn the playbook and really prepare myself and get myself in a position where if I need to (play), I can.”
Special player:Sixth-round pick J.T. Thomas (No. 195 overall) will probably have to earn his way onto the roster by playing special teams, which is OK with him.#147;I played on every special teams (unit) at West Virginia University,#148; he said. #147;When I was younger, I played a lot of different special teams. As I got older, I was a little more valuable to the team, so I didn#146;t play as many, but I was always was on the punt coverage team and punt block team.#148;The 6-foot-1, 241-pounder could be coming into a favorable situation since the Bears have only two linebackers under contract, although that will change whenever free agency begins.#147;He fits us perfectly,#148; said Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. #147;He can play all three (linebacker) positions. He played multiple roles at West Virginia. We spent a lot of time (evaluating) him. We saw him at an all-star game, and he got hurt during that practice week, but we feel very, very good about his fit. Picking up a linebacker was a goal (Saturday), and he was the right one.#148;Grow your own:The selection of QB Nathan Enderle is evidence that the Bears weren#146;t just paying lip service to the concept of developing their own quarterbacks, even though wide receiver and linebacker may have been more pressing needs. They also wanted to avoid last year#146;s situation when they were forced to add 38-year-old veteran Todd Collins late in the preseason when backup QB Caleb Hanie was injured.#147;The value of the (quarterback) position (superseded) everything else in terms of other players at that point,#148; Angelo said. #147;We want to develop our own quarterbacks, and we want to stay with that plan. We hit a speed bump last year, and we just felt like the plan is in place, and we feel very good with him coming on board.#148; Follow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.