Remembering Devin Hester’s remarkable rookie season

Devin Hester started his sensational rookie year with a bang and finished it with a sonic boom that’s still reverberating 18 years later.

After being selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2006 draft out of Miami, Hester made an immediate impact. In his first NFL game, he returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown late in a 26-0 rout of the Packers in Green Bay.

Nearly five months later, the electrifying rookie became the first (and still the only) player in NFL history to return the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl for a touchdown when he raced 92 yards against the Indianapolis Colts.

Hester was named first-team All-Pro as a rookie after setting a league record with five kick return touchdowns, a total that does not include his Super Bowl score or a 108-yard TD return of a missed field goal in a midseason win over the New York Giants.

Just like when a Hall of Fame slugger steps into the batter’s box, Hester transformed every return into a can’t-miss event for every fan in the stadium and at home watching on TV.

“Devin Hester made special teams fun,” former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, who blocked for Hester on punt and kickoff returns, told ChicagoBears.com. “Normally when there’s a punt, people are like, ‘OK, I’m going to take a bathroom break or grab a beer.’ When Devin played, it was like, ‘Oh, it’s fourth down. It’s a time to watch!’ Devin made everybody watch special teams.”