Tornado Alley (PROG)

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...He was the first specialist taken in this year's draft and is the NFL's highest drafted punter since Mitch Wishnowsky was chosen by the 49ers at No. 110 in 2019.

"There's not many punters that are drafted high these days," Taylor said during a Zoom call with Chicago reporters. "It's just really an absolute honor to be a Bear. I just can't really believe it to be honest. It's crazy."

Even crazier is that friends were texting Taylor that they wanted the Bears to pick him in the fourth round and he even joked with his girlfriend about the possibility.

"It's funny, my girlfriend is from Chicago," Taylor said. "I was like, 'Imagine the Bears use their pick at 122,' and then at 115 I just said it as a joke to my girlfriend. I was like, 'Only seven picks away.

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Taylor didn't have much contact with the Bears during the pre-draft process.

"I only spoke to [special teams] coach [Richard] Hightower at the combine, and I felt like we really clicked," Taylor said. "He used to coach Mitch Wisnowski at the 49ers, and I really feel like I'm a similar kind of player."

Taylor attended Haileybury in Hertford, Australia, a boarding and day school for boys and girls ages 11-18. Having played Australian Rules Football, he contacted Prokick Australia, an organization that helps place players at U.S. colleges.

Taylor enrolled at Iowa in 2020 and eventually blossomed into an NFL prospect, thanks in part to the support and guidance he received from Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz and special teams coordinator LeVar Woods.

"When I first came over here, I was like, 'Oh, I'm just going to have fun and see what happens," Taylor said. "After a year or so, my coach said: 'You can really be something pretty special.' It wasn't really anything that I thought about too much. I'd always known that I had a big leg. I'm really just grateful for all the coaches, especially coach Ferentz and also coach Woods for really just letting me be me.

"I've had one pretty crazy journey, but it just really shows if you just put in the hard work, usually good things prevail."

PHOTOS: Bears draft punter Tory Taylor

With the 122nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears select Iowa punter Tory Taylor. Take a look at photos of Taylor in action. (Photos via AP)

https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-draft-iowa-punter-tory-taylor-in-fourth-round-122nd-overall-2024-nfl