New Bear Fuller comes with strong foundations

Bears first-round draft choice Kyle Fuller isn't your average, run-of-the-mill, awestruck rookie.

The 5-foot-11 ¾-inch, 190-pound cornerback behaves like someone who's been there and done that.

Obviously he hasn't. But Fuller is the third of four football-playing brothers, and he's watched his two older siblings, Vincent and Corey, precede him into the NFL - but without quite as much fanfare. All four brothers have played at Virginia Tech.

Vincent, a safety, was drafted in the fourth round by the Tennessee Titans in 2005, and he last played with Patriots in 2011.

Corey is a 6-foot-2, 196-pound wide receiver who was drafted in the sixth round by the Lions a year ago.

Baby brother Kendall is only 19, but he was the ACC defensive rookie of the year, second-team all-ACC and a freshman all-American who started 12 games last season and had 6 interceptions.

Kyle Fuller calls Vincent one of the most significant influences on his life.

"He was a role model for all of us," Kyle said. "He went through everything that we dreamed of going through. It definitely was good to have him to look up to."

All four brothers were together in New York for the draft, along with their parents, Vincent and Nina.

Kyle could have entered the NFL draft a year ago but wanted to come back to get his finance degree, which he did in December, and to play one season with Kendall.

"After my junior year I knew I wanted to come back and play another year," Kyle said. "I had a good time playing with (Kendall), and being able to graduate, I'm definitely glad I stayed."

Kyle going to the Bears will put the family patriarch in a delicate situation when they play Corey and the Lions twice a year, but growing up in an athletic family benefited all the brothers.

"We've been in sports since we were 6 years old, playing basketball, track and football," Kyle said. "I definitely think it prepared me to get me to where I am now. Competing with my brothers, growing up under them, seeing things they've done has helped me become the player I am today."

It also had a lot to do with the toughness that helped make Kyle the 14th overall selection on Thursday.

"That comes from competing with them," Kyle said. "The Little League teams we played for, the guys we went up against growing up. It definitely has a lot to do with the way we were brought up and how much of competitors we are."

When he was occasionally asked to play a position similar to a cornerback-safety-linebacker hybrid and go toe to toe with bigger opponents, like against Georgia Tech last season, when he impressed Bears GM Phil Emery.

Emery's impression?

"This is one tough football player," he said. "He's crashing through gaps, going through offensive linemen to get to the ball. He did it repetitively."

That's the mindset Fuller always tries to play with.

"We say, 'You have to put your big boy pads on,' " he said. "Not just that game, but always. I enjoyed that game. It was one of the best of my college career. I could just show how physical and athletic I was."

Fuller can't wait to show the same qualities as a Bear, and he'll be wearing No. 23, which he realizes has some significance.

"I know the history of that number," he said. "So I'm definitely excited to come here and wear that."