| 16 July 2010
With the 12th pick in the seventh round of the NFL’s supplemental draft, the Bears picked up BYU running back Harvey Unga.
After three years at BYU, Unga leaves the school as its all-time leading rusher with 3,455 yards and 36 touchdowns. He opted to forego the 2010 NFL Draft, intending to finish his fourth year at BYU this fall. But Unga withdrew from the school in April, saying that he had violated the school’s honor code. It’s believed the violation stems from the birth of his son to Keilani Moeaki, a former BYU women’s basketball player who also withdrew from school for an honor code violation.
The 6-foot-1, 244 pound running back is an Illinois native, growing up in Warrenville, a western suburb of Chicago. At a workout in front of 20 NFL scouts, Unga impressed, not dropping a single pass while also posting personal bests in the high jump, broad jump, and bench press (19 reps of 225). The biggest knocks on Unga, though, were his 40-yard dash times, in the 4.6 to 4.7 range.
But the impressive display of hands must’ve been the selling point for the Bears and offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who loves to utilize running backs in the passing game. Scrolling through highlight videos on YouTube shows a running back who certainly knows how to navigate the football field, making several catches down the field. Unga also displays impressive vision and agility for a big man, using blockers downfield to consistently turn 10 or 15-yard gains into bigger gains, although he frequently gets caught from behind by faster defensive backs.
Unga also showed up well in big games throughout his career. His coming out party was against Pac-10 foe Arizona, a game the Cougars won but were heavy underdogs in.
In that game Unga had a modest 67 yards on 15 carries, but it was his nine receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown that introduced the nation to his abilities. Unga also produced big numbers against Washington and UCLA tacking on 40 carries for 207 yards against these two Pac-10 teams. No matter the level of competition, Unga always seemed to perform at his best in the big games.
Unga now joins a crowded Chicago backfield, including starter Matt Forte, backup Chester Taylor, special teamer Garrett Wolfe, one-run wonder Kahlil Bell and undrafted free agent Brandon Minor. It certainly appears to be an uphill battle for Unga to make the roster, but his ability to make plays out of the backfield in the passing game will give him an opportunity to make the 53-man roster in the upcoming month.
Below is some high lights from Unga's days playing for BYU:
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