LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Juaquin Iglesias realized a dream last Sunday when he was selected by the Bears in the third round of the NFL Draft. But it didn’t truly sink in until Thursday when the Oklahoma receiver arrived at Halas Hall.

“Once you get drafted, you see your name roll across the screen,” Iglesias said. “But it doesn’t really hit you until you get here. Once you pull up at the gate where it says ‘Chicago Bears,’ that’s when it started hitting me. And I’m happy to be here. I’m excited and I’m just ready to go.”

Wide receiver Derek Kinder poses for a head shot at Halas Hall.

“It is starting to sink in,” added receiver Derek Kinder, a seventh-round pick from Pittsburgh. “I was here three or four weeks ago [for a pre-draft visit] and now driving back I started recognizing a couple things. When I was driving up the drive, I knew I was close and that’s when it really did sink in that I’m a Bear now.”

Iglesias and Kinder were among 43 rookies who arrived at Halas Hall Thursday in advance of this weekend’s rookie minicamp to fill out paperwork, get fitted for equipment, take physicals and pose for headshots.

The minicamp will consist of one practice a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday and include nine draft picks, nine undrafted free agents and 25 others who will participate on a tryout basis. The minicamp is closed to the public.

Bears coach Lovie Smith addressed the rookies Thursday evening, and president and CEO Ted Phillips is slated to talk to them Friday morning.

Rookies trickled into Halas Hall from all over the country Thursday, many after weathering flight delays that resulted from rain and fog in Chicago. For the most part, the wide-eyed young players were quiet and polite and kept to themselves, just like students on the first day at a new school.

“It’s like starting all over again, just like when you were a freshman,” Iglesias said. “When I went to Oklahoma, it was the same thing and the same feeling. You don’t really know anything. You’ve got to work your way up to the top, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

“Everybody’s going to feel out each other,” said linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round pick from Ohio State. “I know probably after the first couple days, we’re all going to be laughing and hanging out and tired. But it’s an exciting thing and it’s a new thing for everybody.”

“It’s just like going into college,” said guard Lance Louis, a seventh-round pick from San Diego State. “You don’t know anybody and you just want to fit in. It’s like that all over again.”

The rookies will get their first chance to impress Bears coaches on the practice field this weekend.

Undrafted free agents Woodny Turenne (left) and Kevin Malast fill out paperwork at Halas Hall.

“I want to show them that they got a good pick in me and that I’m excited to be here and I’m ready to go,” said Iglesias, the 99th overall pick in the draft.

“I’m just going to go out there and give it my best and just be a coachable and humble player and do what the coaches tell me and go out there and play,” said safety Al Afalava, a sixth-round pick from Oregon State.

“I just want to show them that I bring a lot of energy,” Louis said. “I play fast and play hard and give a lot of effort. Hopefully they can see that.”

In addition to Iglesias, Freeman, Afalava, Louis and Kinder, other Bears draft picks are third-round defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert, fourth-round defensive end Henry Melton, fourth-round cornerback D.J. Moore and fifth-round receiver Johnny Knox.

The nine undrafted free agents are UNLV guard Johan Asiata, Hampton guard Dennis Conley, Connecticut safety Dahna Deleston, Louisiana-Lafayette running back Tyrell Fenroy, Rutgers linebacker Kevin Malast, Northwestern wide receiver Eric Peterman, Kansas linebacker Mike Rivera, California fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou and Louisville cornerback Woodny Turenne.

The 25 tryout players are North Carolina cornerback James Arnold, Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bacher, Indiana defensive tackle Greg Brown, Texas Tech safety Daniel Charbonnet, Virginia wide receiver Maurice Covington, Virginia safety Byron Glaspy, Arizona cornerback Marquis Hundley, Auburn running back Brad Lester, Southern Illinois guard Aaron Lockwood, Stanford linebacker Pat Maynor, Fresno State tight end Adam McDowell, Ball State punter Chris Miller, Missouri quarterback Chase Patton, Wisconsin long-snapper Dave Peck, Mississippi State cornerback Derek Pegues, Miami (Fla.) safety Anthony Reddick, Miami (Ohio) punter Jake Richardson, Montana State guard Lou Saucedo, Purdue tackle Sean Sester, Ohio State fullback Brandon Smith, Vanderbilt wide receiver George Smith, Rutgers defensive end Peter Tverdov, Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, Missouri kicker Jeff Wolfert and Louisiana-Monroe tight end Kenneth Zacharie.