Thread: Blanchard getting look at Bears' rookie minicamp

Blanchard getting look at Bears' rookie minicamp - chicagotribune.com

Blanchard getting look at Bears' rookie minicamp

Matt Blanchard has listed his dream job as being the head coach of the Chicago Bears. For now, the quarterback from Wisconsin-Whitewater will have to settle for an opportunity to perform in the team's rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.

The Bears announced last week that 11 players were signed to contracts as undrafted free agents. Along with the club’s six draft picks and potentially a few players from last season who would qualify for the workouts, there will be a couple dozen players in on a tryout basis.

Coach Lovie Smith believes in running full-scale minicamps with the rookies and to do that, the team needs to bring in more than 20 tryout players to have enough bodies for complete workouts. The Bears sometimes sign a player or two to a free-agent deal and see if they develop enough during the offseason to bring to training camp. The odds are long.

Blanchard, who made a pre-draft visit to the Miami Dolphins, was 25-0 as a starter at Wisconsin-Whitewater. The school announced his tryout on its website. The Lake Zurich native transferred to the D-III school from Northern Illinois. As a two-year starter, he threw 44 touchdowns and had just six interceptions.

Indiana State quarterback Ronnie Fouch, a transfer from Washington, also has been invited to the minicamp on a tryout basis. Fouch, a starter at Washington in 2008, passed for 4,316 yards and 38 touchdowns for the Sycamores. His invite was reported by WTHI-TV.

Of course, it’s going to be difficult for either quarterback to make it to training camp. The Bears have two veterans behind starter Jay Cutler in Jason Campbell and Josh McCown. Nathan Enderle, a fifth-round draft pick last year, is also in the mix.

Here is an unofficial and incomplete list of players reported to have been invited to the Bears' minicamp on a tryout basis:

Willie Clark WR, Northern Illinois

Brad Fortney LB, Carthage

T.J. Greenstone DT, Vanderbilt

Royce Hill CB, North Texas

David Mosley WR, NW Missouri State

Jose Ortiz LB, Harvard

Justin Siller WR, Purdue

Dave Teggart K, Connecticut

Adonis Thomas RB, Toledo

Brandon Venson TE, Illinois State

Phil Welch K, Wisconsin

Kyle Wojta LS, Wisconsin

Very doubtful that any of these guys will be invited to training camp. Just needed some local talent to fill out the "full scale" rookie mini-camp. But you never know, we may find a diamond in the rough.