LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Chasing their dream together, Bears rookies have been spending virtually every waking hour with each other, whether it’s on the practice field, in a meeting room or at their hotel.

It’s an interesting dynamic given that some were bitter rivals only a few short months ago. Just ask receiver Derek Kinder and safety Dahna Deleston, who clashed last Dec. 6 and are now Bears teammates and roommates.

Derek Kinder exults after catching a 61-yard TD pass as new Bears teammate Dahna Deleston looks on.

Kinder caught four passes for 87 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown, to help lead Pittsburgh to a 34-10 win over Deleston and Connecticut in East Hartford. A photo of Kinder demonstratively celebrating his TD while Deleston looks on is proudly displayed on the receiver’s cell phone.

“I never told him that I have that on my phone,” Kinder said with a sheepish smile. “I knew it was him in the picture, but I never really brought it up to him.”

Deleston said there are no hard feelings.

“I used to have that [photo] on my phone, but I have a different picture now of me tackling him from behind,” said the rookie safety. “I remember he broke a long run and I ended up catching him from behind. They had to do a video review to see if I got him before he made it in. I still argue that I got him before he got in, but they ruled it a touchdown.”

Though Kinder owns the bragging rights, he doesn’t talk trash about the play or the game.

“He’s a keep-to-himself guy and I’m a keep-to-myself guy,” said Deleston, an undrafted free agent. “The ability to be someone’s rival or enemy for four or five years and then make that transition to being teammates just shows that college athletes have great character.”

If anyone can chirp about their NCAA exploits, it’s Henry Melton. The rookie defensive end helped Texas defeat three of his new Bears teammates last season in wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias (Oklahoma) and linebackers Marcus Freeman (Ohio State) and Mike Rivera (Kansas).

The victory over Freeman and the Buckeyes came in the Fiesta Bowl.

“We talked about a little bit when we first met,” Melton said. “But he didn’t want to talk about it too much.”

Melton, a converted college running back, has chatted with Rivera about past meetings.

“I was talking crap to Rivera one time because he played linebacker and I was playing running back,” Melton said. “I told him I probably ran over him a couple times.”

All joking aside, Melton is happy that some of his former foes are now his teammates.

“I’ve always respected these guys,” Melton said. “I studied most of them before I got here, scouting the opposition. I’ve known a lot of them for a while and it’s good to be here with them because they were so good in college. It’s good to see that we’re all here together.”

Rivera feels the same way about joining forces with some opponents he battled against in college.

“It’s cool being around them, and seeing how they are as a person because you know them as a player really well,” he said. “It’s been fun talking about the good plays, the bad plays and old times.”