Grasu takes first-team reps
Doesn’t know if he’ll start against Chiefs
Whenever his opportunity comes, rookie center Hroniss Grasu doesn’t want to ease into it. He learned the hard way at Oregon. The key factor being that he learned. And pretty quickly.
“I’m excited [and] anxious,” Grasu said Wednesday at Halas Hall. “If I do get called, it’s kind of like my first career college start [at Oregon]. I was a freshman against LSU at Cowboys Stadium. That was a hostile environment. The whole stadium was probably LSU fans. I was a little teenager going up against Michael Brockers at the time, and he was a firstround pick the following draft.
“That was a really good experience for me. It made my college career that much easier, starting out in that game.”
The 6-3, 300-pound Grasu, the Bears’ third-round draft pick (71st overall), took reps with the first team in practice but said he doesn’t know if he’ll start Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in place of Will Montgomery, who suffered a season-ending broken leg in the 22-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Guard Matt Slauson replaced Montgomery against the Raiders and could start again Sunday. But with guard Patrick Omameh — who replaced Slauson at guard against the Raiders — missing practice with an ankle injury, the Bears’ best option might be to move Slauson back to guard and start Grasu.
“It’s who plays the best, who practices the best,” coach John Fox said when asked about making that decision.
“They earn their opportunities. They earn their reps. They earn whether they start or not. We have all week to look at that.” The undersized Grasu did not look NFLready in the preseason. But he has continued to add weight — he credited team dietician Jennifer Gibson and the strength-and conditioning staff headed by Jason George — and might be ready to learn on the fly.
“I felt comfortable out there as far as ID’ing stuff,” Grasu said about the preseason. “Obviously, coming from the system I came from, I needed to add some more pounds, and I did that. Since preseason, I’ve worked hard every day to get better and in the weight room with nutrition. I gained some pounds, and I feel good. I feel ready to roll.
“Ifmy number gets called, hopefully I can step right in and help. I know mistakes will happen. But you just have to move on and get better.”