Bears players grew up with Devin Hester. Now they watch him enter the Hall of Fame.
Rome Odunze’s aunt and uncle are Chicago Bears fans. They gave him a Brian Urlacher jersey, his introduction to the NFL, but more importantly, showed him a YouTube video.
It is a compilation of Devin Hester’s results from his first three seasons.
“I was impressed,” Odunze said. “I thought it was great because he was never caught.”
That’s how a kid in Las Vegas became a Bears fan. Odunze would wear number 23 in youth football.
“I was definitely hooked,” he said. “I was a Devin Hester fan for life.”
This weekend, Hester will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The greatest returner of all time is still having an impact on the game, as two days before he dons the golden jacket, the NFL will unveil a new kickoff rule, one to keep the return in play.
It’s Hester’s Bears who are going to do it. And it’s the Bears who still have a lot of Hester fans.
“It’s wild. The coincidences, so many different connections,” Odunze said. “It’s such a blessing to be in the position that I’m in and have him as a role model. It’ll be awesome if he gets into the Hall of Fame. I’m so excited for him.
“There was a discussion for a while about him being a Hall of Famer, and I was the first one to be like, ‘Man, what? Turn on the tape. Nobody’s ever done what he did.’ I’m happy for him.”
Recently, Hester texted Odunze, seeing how he inspired the newest Bears receiver.
“Keep doing your thing and keep going,” Hester told him.
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There may never be another Hester, but the new rule – if it sticks – at least offers the possibility, albeit remote, that someone could catch his record 20 return touchdowns, five of which came on kickoff returns.
The one on the current Bears team who benefits the most is Velus Jones Jr. When he thinks of Hester, he thinks “legendary.”
“As a kid. I wasn’t really into football, but my older brother played Madden all the time, and that’s when I heard about (Hester),” he said. “I remember seeing him return the kickoff in the Super Bowl. I was young, but that was crazy. I used to watch a lot of highlights of him in the Park League, in high school, but I would say I really tapped into the return stage in high school.”
Jones hopes to return the kick in the Hall of Fame game and perhaps even hand the ball to Hester, a solemn testament to the fact that the kick remains in the game and the great things Hester did are kept alive.
Bears return man Velus Jones Jr. is one of several current players on the team who are inspired by Hall of Famer Devin Hester. (Jamie Sabau / USA Today)
Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, who helped the league create the new rule, remembers 11 years ago when Hester lined up to return a punt against Washington. Hightower was in the coaching box, helping map out the defense for Washington that afternoon, when Hester left.
The 81-yard touchdown tied Deion Sanders’ record for return scores.
“The whole team said all week that we weren’t going to punish him. We punished him and guess what happened,” Hightower said with a laugh. “He did what he does best. He’s special.”
A few times a year, Hightower will show clips of Hester in his special team meetings. He’s already seen Odunze’s “eyes widen” when Hester’s returns appear on screen.
“We honor him so that everyone in the room understands why we are where we are in the NFL because of his accomplishments and all of his hard work,” he said. “We absolutely have the utmost respect for him.”
Hightower, who has been coaching in the NFL since Hester’s debut season, doesn’t think we’ll see someone like him return.
“I still think in my heart of hearts that I’ll never see another Devin Hester in my lifetime. Maybe my kids’ kids will see one,” he said. “He was just so special. Every time he touched the ball, he could go to the house. That’s rare. I’ve never seen that consistently from someone year in and year out.
“To be able to do it as long as he could, as well as he was, that’s why he’s going to the Hall. He’s just remarkable.”
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When a team happens to have several players who grew up as fans, a weekend like this is extra special. Tight end Cole Kmet and linebackers TJ Edwards and Jack Sanborn are definitely Hester generation.
Their fondest memories as Bears fans often revolve around the same highlight.
“Super Bowl return,” Edwards said. “That was the guy you gravitated toward. He was just so electric in everything he did.”
Today, 17 years ago, Devin Hester started off Super Bowl XLI with a BANG. 😤 photo.twitter.com/STGjcVZ3mh
— NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2024
“I remember sitting there with my family watching the game and him bringing that back, it wasn’t even a shock to a lot of people,” Sanborn said. “It was like Devin Hester.”
Kmet knows that the opening touchdown against the Colts in Miami is often Hester’s first memory, but this is Hester’s comeback from a missed field goal against the Giants.
“I remember being at my grandfather’s house at the time and watching with everyone,” he said. “That really sticks in my mind — that whole moment. It’s really cool.”
The thing about Hester was that anyone at some point in their youth football days could try to be him. Anyone who grew up around Chicago during his era — or a wideout in Las Vegas — did.
“You try to emulate him playing in the backyard with all your friends,” Edwards said. “My good friend Andrew Spencer, he was fast and growing up, he took that to heart when he tried to be Devin Hester, so we always gave him shit. I’m sure every kid in America tried to emulate that guy.”
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For Sanborn, “23” isn’t Michael Jordan. For football players of a certain age, “23” was Hester.
“That song was just… that was him,” he said. “He was a legend.”
Every year, each team in the Hall of Fame Game is represented by a player who is about to be inducted. For the Bears and Hester, it’s different. From the kickoff lineman who takes center stage Thursday night, to their No. 9 pick who grew up as a Hester fan, to the players who still watch his highlights, the connection is strong. The synergy is unique.
At the league meeting in the spring, chairman George McCaskey explained what Hester’s honor means to the franchise.
“Every now and then they put a clip on social media of all his touchdown returns,” he said. “Not just the ones that result in touchdowns. Even if you go back to his (college) days. It’s like he was shot out of a cannon. It’s a man among boys world. Just extraordinary talent. Grateful and proud that the Hall has recognized that extraordinary talent.”
— The AthleticsAdam Jahns contributed.
(Top photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
