SIZE AND OTHER MATTERS

NFL DRAFT PREVIEW At 6- 7, 255, UTEP’s Robertson- Harris has lots of potential

Two edge rushers visited Halas Hall on Thursday.

One, Georgia’s Leonard Floyd, could be the Bears’ first- round pick next week. The other won’t go nearly as high but has the build to be one of the draft’s more intriguing players.

At 6- 7, 255 pounds, Roy Robertson- Harris is an imposing figure — even if his 10 ½ sacks in four seasons at UTEP don’t jump off the page.

“With these NFL coaches, I think they see a lot in me and see that I haven’t reached my full potential,” Robertson- Harris said. “I think that’s the plus side for me — because I have a lot to learn and like to learn as much as I can.”

A star recruit from the Dallas area, he attended UTEP in part because Andre Patterson, a family friend, coached the defensive line. Patterson has since returned to coach with the Vikings, where he worked from 1998 to ’ 99.

He played all along the defensive line in UTEP’s 4- 3 scheme but has the physical skills to play outside linebacker in the NFL. He had 23 tackles for loss in his last three seasons, during which he started 33 games.

When he met with Bears outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt, Robertson- Harris said they talked about how he could transition there. Hurtt told him he had the tools to fit in the scheme.

“I’m starting to get a little more comfortable in a 3- 4 defense, playing stand- up outside linebacker,” said Robertson- Harris, who did not spend time with Floyd during their visits. “In the 4- 3, I played three- technique, I played outside. I’ve done it all really, so I’m excited to see what a team wants me to do and what they’re asking me to do.”

Robertson- Harris met coach John Fox, whom he described as “down to earth” and “chill.” His cousin, two- time Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks, played for Bears general manager Ryan Pace’s Saints from 2008 to ’ 11.

That the Bears used one of their 30 in- house visits on him shows a serious level of curiosity. Robertson- Harris served as team captain, something Pace valued in his first Bears draft last year.

Drafting an edge rusher early wouldn’t preclude the Bears from looking at Robertson- Harris later, either. They could use an injection of youth into that position group.

Of their four top outside linebackers, one, Willie Young, will turn 31 this year. Lamarr Houston will be 29, and Pernell McPhee and Sam Acho will be 28.

Robertson- Harris will spend the first day of the draft in Houston with his fiancée — the two are expecting a baby boy in August and have a sonogram appointment. The next day, he’ll drive to Dallas, where he’ll host a fish fry for family on Saturday.

“Hopefully, the second or the third day, I’ll get my name called,” he said.

In less than two weeks, his life will change.

“It’s more nervousness than excitement, but my family’s doing the excited part for me,” he said. “They’re playing that role.”