Smith started 11 games as a true freshman in 2018, but injuries and inconsistent play limited him to a total of just 13 contests over three seasons from 2019-21. But he persevered, ultimately regaining his starting position last year.
“We talk about resilience is a big thing,” said Bears co-director of player personnel Trey Koziol. “That is one of the key cogs we talk about when we’re looking for Bears players, so for somebody to stick it out and kind of work through those things and kind of pull himself up by his bootstraps and continue to get better, that shows a lot about him as a player and a person. I think that is a special thing with him.”
The Bears view Smith as an ascending prospect who will only continue to improve.
“What I really liked [about] him, what’s special about him is he’s kind of made that steady ascent, right?” Koziol said. “When we look at drafting players it’s like, ‘Can you still get more out of them? Are they still in that developmental upswing?’ And I think that’s where Terell really stood out.
“I thought the senior year he showed a ton of improvement and he just kept getting better and better and better. And then he went to the East-West Shrine Game and that just kept getting better and better and better, and he tested out really well at the Combine and had a really nice Pro Day. So all the little checked boxes that we look for, he kind of hit all of them.”
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