LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Not recruited out of high school or prep school, David Ball has become a pro at beating the odds. Now all he has to do is beat the odds again to become a pro.

The undrafted free agent wide receiver is not fast or terribly elusive. But he has great hands, runs crisp routes and was ultra-productive at New Hampshire, where he caught 58 touchdown passes, shattering Jerry Rice’s Division I-AA record.

Wide receiver David Ball participated in his first Bears practice Friday at Halas Hall.

“People have always doubted my skills on the football field,” Ball said. “They’ve always had questions about my speed, strength and size. I’ve been battling that for years now and it apparently hasn’t stopped yet.”

Ball didn’t receive any scholarship offers after playing eight-man football at Spaulding High School in Vermont, where he was also a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and set the state high jump record at 6’8½”.

A year later after starring at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, the 6-1, 196-pounder didn't attract much more attention from college recruiters and ultimately joined the New Hampshire football team as a walk-on.

Ball started all 12 games as a true freshman in 2003, catching 38 passes for 486 yards and four TDs. He then blossomed into a star, amassing 81 receptions for 1,504 yards and 17 TDs as a sophomore, 87-1,551-24 as a junior and 93-1,113-13 as a senior.

In addition to setting the record for TD receptions, Ball tied Rice’s mark for 100-yard receiving games with 23 and finished second on the NCAA Division I-AA list in receiving yards (4,655) and games with at least one TD reception (28).

Despite that remarkable production, most experts feel that Ball has a much better chance of working in accounts receivable than becoming an NFL receiver. But rather than tuning out the skeptics, the former New Hampshire star channels their negativity into inspiration.

“It helps keep me motivated and keeps me determined to prove all those people wrong,” he said. “For me, it just kind of feeds the fire that’s already there.”

Ball’s first opportunity to make an impression in a Bears uniform comes this weekend during the team’s rookie minicamp. He’s grown accustomed to the doubters and sees no reason why he can’t overcome the odds one more time—even after being clocked at a sluggish 4.73 and 4.70 in the 40 at New Hampshire’s Pro Day in March.

“Until I give myself a reason not to believe in myself, I’m going to continue to believe in my abilities,” he said. “I’ve been a consistent athlete and consistently successful at all the levels I played at. This is just the first step here at minicamp and I’ve got to come out here and turn some heads and show that I can play.”

Ball hopes to turn those heads by displaying the same ability that enabled him to become a record-breaking receiver at New Hampshire.

“I just want to show them that my best quality is by far my consistency out there,” he said. “When they throw the ball up, I’m going to come down with it and make catches for them whether a guy’s in my hip pocket or whether or not I get separation.”

Ball doesn’t try to pattern himself after any one current NFL receiver in particular.

“I try to gear my game after possession guys that have big-play capabilities,” he said, “guys who can work in the zone in the middle of the field and be good possession guys with great hands but also have the opportunity to go up and over somebody when they’re in the red zone.”

Ball was unhappy about not getting drafted, but he feels fortunate to have signed with a Bears team that didn’t select any wide receivers.

“It was very disappointing, but I think it was the second best scenario for me,” Ball said. “To go in the sixth or seventh round and have to be in a camp competing with receivers who were taken very early in the draft, teams typically are going to give the guys who’ve they’ve invested money in a lot more of an opportunity.

“If they mess up, they can throw that under the rug a little bit. With me, they wouldn’t have been able to do that. To come here with no receivers drafted, it’s a great situation for me and a place where I can really show some people I can play.”