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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears spent two of their first three draft picks on Florida safety Major Wright and Kansas State cornerback Joshua Moore, but not before defensive backs coach Jon Hoke traveled to their college campuses to conduct individual workouts with the two prospects.

Hoke generally puts the players through on-field drills for 45 minutes to an hour. The veteran coach worked out four defensive backs this year, also visiting Iowa’s Amari Spievey and Vanderbilt’s Myron Lewis, both of whom were off the board before the Bears’ first pick in the draft.

“Most of them have been to the Combine, so you’ve got their measurables handled there,” Hoke said. “You also have some workout tape to look at from the Combine. So what you do is take them through some drills they may not do at the Combine.”

Hoke evaluates the prospect’s hips, foot placement, hands, short-area quickness, lateral mobility and conditioning—and was impressed with what he saw from Wright.

“He’s got a lot of tools physically and he was in shape,” Hoke said. “He just kept wanting to do more. You couldn’t tire him out. There have been a few guys that you can get gassed; they die on you. But not him. He did a great job with the workout.”

After they finish on the field, Hoke takes the prospects into a classroom. He has them explain what all 11 men on their college defense are responsible for doing in various situations—before turning the tables.

“The second part of it is I’ll draw up a defense that [the Bears] run and put all 11 guys up there, tell them what everybody’s job is, and then erase it and have them go up there and explain it to me,” Hoke said. 

“You find out how fast they can grasp things and how well they listen.”

Wright also excelled in the classroom.

“He did a great job explaining their defense,” Hoke said. “He was a unique guy. He was the only guy that I had on all those visits who as soon as I started to go up on the board, he had a notebook out and was taking notes. That was impressive.”

Hoke was pleased that the Bears selected Wright with their first pick in the third round, 75th overall.

“The first thing that impresses you is when you meet the guy,” Hoke said. “The guy is all about football. He has a very engaging personality. Players on that team are drawn to him. Coaches are drawn to him. 

“He has a very positive effect on everybody he’s around. And then when you sit down and talk to him, he just wants to learn. He’s very passionate about what he does.

“He was a communicator on their defense. Their coaches will tell you they didn’t communicate as well at times when he wasn’t in there, if he was out a couple plays. He’s a vocal guy in all areas.”

The individual workouts the Bears held with Wright and Moore took on added importance because both entered the draft as juniors, and underclassmen generally aren’t studied as closely as seniors.

Moore also impressed Hoke, but the Kansas State product got tired late in his workout.

“I think he’s in decent shape, but he did get tired at the end,” Hoke said. “You could see that and it kind of lets you know where he’s at. But skill set-wise, he was fine.”

Moore was also fine in the classroom.

“He could explain what they were doing, what the front was, what the linebackers’ job was, and what he did based on the safety call,” said Hoke, who played safety for the Bears in 1980.

Hoke also conducted individual workouts when he held the same position with the Houston Texans from 2002-08.

“They’re all pretty businesslike,” he said. “The one thing that kind of amazes me—it didn’t happen much this year but in years past—is that some of these guys aren’t in shape. You’ll get through about three drills and they’re toast.

“You’ve got to tell them, ‘This is your interview and this is what you come up with?’ It just kind of flabbergasts you more than anything. You’re throwing balls at them and they’re so tired the ball is ricocheting off them. One time I had to go find a guy [after a workout]. He was so tired he was laid out on the locker room floor.”

Roster move: The Bears on Monday agreed to terms with a 13th undrafted free agent, Virginia’s Vic Hall. The 5-10, 185-pounder played quarterback, wide receiver, safety and cornerback while also returning punts for the Cavaliers. Hall will line up at wide receiver with the Bears.