Rookie defensive end Corey Wootton, a fourth-round draft pick from Northwestern, will share his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com:

I’m really excited about heading to training camp later this week. It’s a dream come true for me to join an NFL team—especially such a historic franchise like the Bears—and this is a great opportunity.

Defensive end Corey Wootton participates in a drill during the Bears' rookie minicamp in May.

I’ve heard a lot about training camp. I’ve heard that it’s a real grind going through practice every day. Your legs get sore, and mentally you’re exhausted. But it’s an important price to pay to get ready for the season. I know I’m going to be able to push through that. I’ve also heard that there are a lot of fans there watching every practice and there’s a great atmosphere in Bourbonnais.

At Northwestern we went up to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to get ready for the season. I’m sure this is going to be a lot different. There are going to be a lot more fans because Chicago is crazy about the Bears. It’s definitely going to be a lot more intense because it’s the NFL, and I’m looking forward to that.

I also know that practicing in pads is going to be completely different than OTAs. It’s going to be a lot more physical in the trenches than it was in the other practices we’ve had up until this point.

I just hope to show the coaches the improvement that I’ve made from the time I was drafted until now, and then just keep improving throughout camp. All I’m trying to do is keep getting better. And I’ll do anything I can to help the team this season, whether it’s being part of the defensive line rotation or playing on special teams.

The one thing I’m going to bring to training camp that I can’t live without is my playbook. Of course, that goes without saying. I’ll also bring my phone and maybe a pillow and a blanket. I’m not going to bring a TV; I’m just going to focus on football. I’m trying to do everything I can to be the best I can on the field. I can watch TV and play video games when we get back from camp and have some free time.

I haven’t done anything real exciting the past few weeks; I’ve just been training. I took a week off as soon as OTAs ended and then got right back into it. I’ve also been spending about an hour a day studying my playbook so it’s ingrained in my mind and I can just play and not have to worry about that in camp.