The second episode of the Bears' "Meet the Rookies" video series features defensive lineman Shemar Turner. This piece from senior writer Larry Mayer explains why it took two calls from general manager Ryan Poles to convince the Texas A&M product that the Bears were drafting him in the second round.
Having seen a couple of top prospects receive prank calls during the NFL Draft, Shemar Turner was skeptical when he received a call from someone claiming to be from the Bears.
"I actually hung up the first time because I thought it was a fake caller because I had been seeing that stuff go around," the defensive lineman from Texas A&M told ChicagoBears.com. "And then he called again, and I answered, and he told me it was [general manager] Ryan Poles from the Chicago Bears."
Finally convinced that he was indeed being drafted by the Bears in the second round, Turner celebrated with his family, including his mom, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle.
The Bears view Turner as an ideal fit in new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's system because the 6-3, 290-pounder plays with violence, relentlessness and a nasty disposition.
"What qualities make me stand out?" Turner said. "I would say my tenacity and my intensity, like how intense I play and how fast I play and how mean and nasty I am."
Turner appeared in 43 games over four seasons at Texas A&M, recording 115 tackles, 10.0 sacks and 24 tackles-for-loss. Over the past two years, he compiled 69 tackles, 8.0 sacks and 17 tackles-for-loss.
Turner made a positive first impression at rookie minicamp in May.
"He's athletic," Allen said at the time. "That was the first thing that we saw. You see explosion and power with this player. He's got the right temperament for what we're looking for. I think we'll have to put the saddle on him and break him a little bit … but we're excited about working with him."
Turner balances his aggressiveness on the field with an outgoing personality.
"I think he really loves football," Allen said. "And that's something that we look for in guys that we want to bring into the building because you have to love football to do all the things that are going to be necessary to have success in our league. He's got a good personality, and then when he's on the field, he's about business, so that's good to see."
