LAKE FOREST, Ill. – When the Bears kick off their rookie minicamp with an afternoon practice Friday afternoon at Halas Hall, wide receiver Derek Kinder will embark on an important mission.

Derek Kinder caught touchdown passes of 80, 78 and 55 yards last season at Pittsburgh.

The seventh-round draft pick from Pittsburgh is determined to prove that he’s the same player he was before a knee injury derailed his college career.

Kinder was named first team All-Big East and chosen as a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as a junior in 2006, leading the Panthers with 57 receptions for 847 yards. But he suffered a torn ACL during the opening week of training camp the next summer and missed the entire 2007 season.

Kinder rebounded as a senior in 2008, catching 36 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.

The 6-1, 210-pounder claims that he’s “back to normal, 100 percent,” and is eager to impress. Asked what he hopes to show Bears coaches during this weekend’s minicamp, he said: “Just that I’m back to the receiver I used to be my junior year and I’m ready to go out there and make some plays.”

Kinder no doubt would have been selected much higher than the seventh round had he not hurt his knee.

“I think it’s pretty natural to think about the ‘what ifs,’” he said. “But I feel like everything happens for a reason, and thankfully everything worked out and I’m in a good position now.

“Unless you’re that No. 1 overall pick, everybody feels like they should go higher in the draft. I’m definitely going to try to play with a little chip on my shoulder and show people that I could have went higher.”

Fast friends: Bears fifth-round pick Marcus Freeman and Rams second-round selection James Laurinaitis started next to each other as Ohio State linebackers and also roomed together.

“We were very close,” Freeman said. “We clicked from Day 1. We had a lot of things in common. We were guys that both pushed each other to be the best. We competed every day. Although we were great friends, we were competitors. We wanted to beat each other, wanted to be the best, and that’s what made our friendship so strong.”

Freeman credits his friend with helping to improve his game. Laurinaitis won the Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive player and the Butkus Award as the top linebacker while at Ohio State.

“When you have a three-time All-American beside you, you see what makes him so good,” Freeman said. “Every day you see him practice and it helps you out because you’re trying to put that into your game.”

An avid professional wrestling fan, Freeman was excited to learn that Laurinaitis’ father, Joe, was a popular pro wrestler known as “The Animal” who was part of the “Road Warriors” tag team.

“I’ve been a fan since I was a young kid and to know the son of the Animal was a huge deal when [James] first came in,” Freeman said. “We’ve been to three Wrestlemania’s together. It’s just something that we both have in common. It’s something fun to do.”

Toeing the line: It appears that seventh-round pick Lance Louis will begin his Bears career as a guard after all. The 6-2, 303-pounder played tight end during his first two seasons at San Diego State before moving to right guard as a junior and right tackle as a senior.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to be playing guard,” Louis said. “Anything else, I can pretty much do that, too.”

In the final game of his sophomore season in 2005, Louis rumbled 44 yards with a screen pass against Hawaii—when he weighed 275 pounds.

Asked what type of player Bears fans can expect to see, he said: “I’m an aggressive guy. I like to put my opponents on the ground. That’s what I try to do every play.”

The same path: Fifth-round pick Johnny Knox is attempting to follow Bears 2006 second-round selection Danieal Manning from Division II Abilene Christian to an NFL career in Chicago.

“He’s a big inspiration,” said the speedy wide receiver. “At Abilene, we all looked up to him. Coming out of Division II, he helped players like me out a lot.”

Asked what Bears fans can expect to see from him, Knox said: “They’re going to see speed. But I’m also a patient person, I’m confident, and I’m a hard worker.”