When Chicago Bears wide receiver coach Darryl Drake took the time to go to Killeen and personally work out Juaquin Iglesias a few weeks ago, the Oklahoma wide receiver knew there was a good chance the Bears would draft him.
And so they did, as the Bears drafted Iglesias in the third round of Sunday's NFL Draft.
Drake's appearance at his Iglesias' home convinced the 6-1, 210-pounder that the Bears were the team he wanted to play for.
"He treated me well, we got along together well,'' Iglesias said. "(Drake) really made me feel comfortable and that's the main reason why I wanted to go there.''
At OU, Iglesias is second on the team's all-time reception list with 202 catches, and second on its all-time receiving yardage list (2,821 yards). He also led the Sooners in receptions and yards in 2007 (68 for 907 yards) and 2008 (74 for 1,150 yards).
But you had a hard time convincing the average bystander that Iglesias was a major part of OU's high-powered offense. That's because he had to take a back seat to Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford and tight end Jermaine Gresham.
Bradford won the Heisman Trophy this past year and probably would have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft had he decided to come out early. And Gresham was a first-team All-American this past season.
That left Iglegias to pick up the crumbs when it came to the publicity game at OU.
Asked if he was overlooked at OU, Iglesias said: "I think so, but I think every great team has role players. I definitely think I am a role player. I was a big role player.
"I had a big part of the offense, but....it's a big program and other people overshadow other people. That's just how the game is and that's how it was at Oklahoma. But it ended up good for me because I'm a strong player.''
Another strong player is quarterback Jay Cutler, whom the Bears acquired from Denver over the offseason. Going from catching passes from Bradford to now catching passes from Cutler makes Iglesias feels like he's a fortunate player.
"I just know he's a great quarterback,'' Iglesias said of Cutler. "He has a big arm and that's really it.
"I know he's my teammate and he's out there to be prepared and get to work. Hopefully it will work out. I think it will.''
Knowing Iglesias, it probably will work out. Just like Iglesias had a hunch it would work out that he would wind up with the Bears after the visit by Drake.
"The draft is a tricky thing,'' Iglesias said. "You never know when you are going to go. I was just waiting for my name to be called.''
_ Dwain Price
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