Urlacher leads impressive linebacker group

In the seventh of nine position previews in advance of training camp, Hardy Nickerson discusses the Bears linebackers:

What are your impressions of Brian Urlacher?

He’s just a great player. When you consider his size, speed and athleticism, you don’t see many guys like that come along very often. He’s a rare guy and a phenomenal football player.

What makes him excel in the scheme you’re so familiar with?

I think the fact that he knows it so well. He knows the ins and outs of it. That allows him to play with more reckless abandon and it gives him the opportunity to make a lot of plays.

How would you assess Jamar Williams’ performance in offseason workouts?

He performed well. It’s been a learning process for him in the offseson. But he’s very athletic. He runs well. He’s coming along. He’s a young guy learning the system, and he’s doing a good job with that.

What has impressed you most about Jamar?

The way he approached the whole offseason; the way he came in and took a workmanlike attitude and took a lot of pride in learning the system and trying to get every little detail down.

What area of Jamar’s game are you working on most to improve?

Just the whole aspect of becoming a better football player and understanding the system so that he can go out and play fast and physical. Everything that comes along with that will help him progress in that matter.

What are your impressions of Hunter Hillenmeyer?

He’s as solid as a rock. He’s steady day-in and day-out. He comes in and works hard and does what he has to do. He’s very smart. He understands the defense. He knows where to line up all the time. He’s never out of position. He’s always in the right place at the right time.

With Michael Okwo not being allowed to participate in most of the offseason program because Stanford’s classes were still in session, how far did he fall behind?

It’s tough. A lot of the young guys have been here since the veteran minicamp, so there’s a lot of catching up to do. There’s a lot of information that he missed and we’ve got to play catch-up. But he’s a smart guy and I’m sure that once we get to work, he’ll pick it up pretty fast.

Who are some other young linebackers to keep an eye on in training camp?

Rod Wilson has been quite steady and worked extremely hard this offseason. Leon Joe also had a pretty good spring. In our group, those are two guys to watch.