'He totally revamped the position.' Get to know Bears rookie Tory Taylor.

You talked about that good first practice, but was there a time when you realized just how special he was?

His very first game he ever played was at Purdue in front of no fans, and he had a career day and didn’t even know it. He thought he did bad. He had one punt that was not a great punt, but it was acceptable. It was average. His very first one was a 55-yard punt. We were backed up inside our own 10-yard line. That was his first punt. That’s hard to do, right?

But I would say just right off the bat, he was outstanding. He had one touchback his freshman year. That’s pretty incredible, hard to do. And one ball that was returned his freshman year. As the years went on, people started to learn him and know him and vet his ball placement a little bit better, so the opponent got better. But at the very beginning, they couldn’t even come close to him.

What can you tell me about the way he works?

He’s very disciplined, very meticulous. He’s very focused on his craft, and all he cares about is getting better and winning. That’s all he thinks and talks about. The guy put in a ton of time. I know every time I would walk into our position meeting room, the film would already be up and he’d be studying someone else. He’d be studying Michael Dickson or the punter we were getting ready to face that week. He’d be studying somebody, just trying to learn more and become better at what he does.

What will be the main adjustment in the NFL?

Probably some things in the locker room. The locker room is way different. There are 130 players on our team here. There’s not that in the NFL, especially once the season is going. So that part will be definitely different for him.

And I’ve shared this with him before. When he walks out into Kinnick Stadium here in Iowa City, anybody that sees him, they go crazy. The fans go crazy. They introduce him in pregame warmups, and the fans go nuts. His first punt of every game, we had to use a silent cadence because the fans are going crazy. They’re cheering. They’re waving Australian flags in the stands.

I told him, “This is not real football. You go in the NFL, once the punter hits the field, everyone is booing. They don’t want to see you on the field. They want to see someone else.” So I think that is going to be something for him to deal with or something that is slightly different.

What was that fanfare like for him and for you to watch?

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