Taylor on getting drafted by the Bears, his unique NFL journey |
With their sole fourth-rounder, the Chicago Bears selected punter Tory Taylor out of Iowa with the No. 122 overall pick, making him the highest drafted punter since Mitch Wishnowsky back in 2019.
“I obviously spoke to (special teams coordinator) Coach Hightower at the Combine and I feel like we really clicked. He used to coach Mitch Wishnowsky at the 49ers and I really like I’m a similar kind of player,” Taylor said. “So, I’m just really excited to be a Bear and get to work. Honestly, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s pretty surreal.” Taylor is from Melbourne, Australia, making him the only Australian player on Chicago’s roster currently. He went to college at Iowa, making him the first player drafted out of Iowa by the Bears since center James Daniels back in 2018 and the No. 13 player drafted all-time by Chicago from the Hawkeyes. His journey to the NFL is rather unique, particularly because he only started playing in 2019. “I joined Prokick Australia and when I first came over here, I was like, ‘I’m just going to have fun and see what happens’ and after a year or so, my coach said ‘You can be something pretty special’ and wasn’t really anything that I’d thought about too much,” Taylor said. “I’d always known that I had a big leg and I’m really just grateful for all the coaches … I’ve had a pretty crazy journey, but it just really shows if you just put in the hard work, usually good things prevail.” Part of growing up in Australia was playing the game with a very different set of rules. While he has never done this in a football game in America, Taylor developed the ability to kick with both of his legs during his time in Australia. “Never kicked a left-footed punt in a game,” Taylor said. “But, I can certainly do that just basically from my Aussie rules background. You have to be (able) to kick on both feet. So, that’s where it really comes from, but I’ve never done that in a game.” Taylor had a strong career during his four years in Iowa, with a total of 295 punts for a total of 13,657 yards. He was voted as the nation’s best punter, winning the Ray Guy Award, as well as being a First-Team All-American during Iowa’s defense and special teams-dominated run to the Big 10 Championship in 2023. During his final two years, he led the NCAA in number of punts, with 82 in 2022 and 93 in 2023. He led the Big 10 in punts in 2021 as well, with 80 punts. In summary, he has far more punting experience than most punters coming out of college. Despite his outstanding production, some thought he may not get drafted solely because of his position as a punter. However, Chicago wanted to ensure they got their punter. He was the only specialized player selected in the fourth round and made sure fans knew what they would be getting out of him as a punter. “I was always pretty confident that I was going to get drafted. It was really just a matter of how high and things like that,” Taylor said. “There’s not many punters that are drafted high these days and it’s just really an absolute honor to be a Bear. I just can’t really believe it to be honest. It’s crazy … The Bears are going to get someone that can kick for distance and hang time but someone that can also pin them deep and place it wherever he wants. So, that’s what I’m most excited about.”
