Chicago Bears' Cohen likes a big challenge
When 5-foot-6½-inch running back Tarik Cohen was asked after Sunday's final practice of the weekend Chicago Bears rookie minicamp how to pronounce his first name, he said: "Tuh-REEK … or Big Daddy."
Cohen can disappear behind his blockers on the field, but he's no shrinking violet off the field.
"That's the unique thing about him," Bears coach John Fox said. "He's got a little bit of a chip, and he handles it great. He looks at it as a challenge all the time, and I think he views himself about 6-foot-6."
The 179-pound Cohen rushed for 5,619 yards at North Carolina A&T, an FCS school, and he was the first three-time offensive MVP of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
His style would be unique to a Bears backfield that features Jordan Howard but could use the diversity that Cohen provides.
"He's got great explosion," Fox said. "He's got really big hands, which help him in the job description we're going to have for him. We really didn't have that guy, in that type of role. I think that'll help us this season."
As the Bears' "joker" back, Cohen would be used not only as a runner but as a pass catcher out of the backfield or split wide.
He said he already has noticed a difference between his college days and the weekend rookie minicamp.
"First thing is less cutback lanes," he said. "So not as many 80-yarders as I had in college. But I still think I could pop out a few here and there. The defense is way faster than the level I was at."
Good first impression:
Fifth-round draft pick Jordan Morgan didn't play football until his senior year in high school, but he was a four-year starter for Kutztown (Pennsylvania), an NCAA Division-II school.
Now the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder is being moved to guard, where he played for the first time at the Senior Bowl in January when the Bears' staff coached his North squad.
"It's just continuing to get used to playing in less space," Morgan said. "Down at the Senior Bowl, I got a pretty good taste of it. I think that contributed to me this week being able to adjust so much quicker and feeling more comfortable."
He obviously made an impression on coach John Fox and Bears scouts.
"A lot of guys we had there left an impression, but he's the only guy we drafted out of the Senior Bowl," Fox said. "It wasn't exactly a great need position for us, but he was a guy we knew and felt good about."
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