All Access: Robertson-Harris fighting for bigger role

access pass into Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Miller Litte, CDW and four and good even everybody had Welcome into another edition up Bears All Access presented by IGS Energy, Jeff Jonny Acabong with Tom Fair on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy the Score and welcomed to be joined by Roy robertson Harris the Bears Defense Event. Thanks for joining us. My friend ad a heck of a game the other night.

Here you, sir. Preseason has been pretty well for me and I want to continue to play well, perform well and do what I can get a Bears win and contribute to the defense and taken in the regular season week one and a half sack pre season already for the big game? Right? You know? Do you have I don't even want to tell me, but do you have a goal set in your mind in terms of sacks? Because I would imagine every defensive lineman has an imaginary number.

And when I saw your sack the other night, all right, so now you're rushing the outside shoulder and you reach in with your left arm and you grab the quarterback. I mean the distance you can cover and the types of sacks you've had so far in the preseason. Do you have that secret number? I don't right now. At this point, it's just get healthy or stay healthy and throughout the preseason and then once Week one hits we'll start writing notes down about goals and what we want

to accomplish for the year. Good for you. Is that something that you guys talk about individually when you say you're gonna sit down and do that, or is that something coach Jay Rogers tries to put in your heads, Hey, guys think this way, well, Jay, Jay does a good job of Hey think this way about you know, getting to the quarterback. Jay wants us to as many sacks

as possible. He wants us to get sacks every third down. Individually, I want to write down how many sacks I want to get for the year, how many tackles, TFLs, things like that. I have a set number of sacks that I do want to get for the year. Things like that I do every single year. But that's not something Jay harps on. He's more so, Hey, every third down should be a sack, should be a takeaway, you know, every sack should be a force fumble. Things like that.

I would think the best way in time as a player for yourself when it it's individual. Obviously you know that that sounds good and everything, but in the framework of the team, say a third down sack the results in a forced fumble, strip sack, guy scores a touchdown. It's a meaningful play in the overall effort that results in a victory. Do you look at plays like that and say, okay, Week seven, I made this play, but

it resulted in a win. Same for you. A big block that may have resulted in a big run that led to a win. Well, you know, Royan In term those terms, I think like when you take on a massive double team of two offensive lineman. Now you know that there's trying to get a guy trying to get to the second level and you hold him up in John team, wo would happen to him? The other night you took on a big double team team who comes

to the outside makes a perfect solo tackle. That has to be a rewarding in terms of what Jeff is talking about as if you, you know, make a tackle at the line of scrimmage the way you support your teammates, right, I mean, it's it's all about being in the best position to get your guys to make plays. And like you're saying, the double teams, it gives team will a chance to make a play, even a TfL that I can't get to because I'm taking on a double team.

Little things like that are game changes for us. So you're getting a lot of reps at practice, You're getting a lot of reps in the games. You're on two different special teams, you know. So I look at the elevation in Denver five thousand, twenty five, eight hundred and twenty feet and then I looked up UTEP and it's four thousand and six feet elevation. Yeah, were you in condition for immediate work at Denver or did you feel

better after two days or three days? I definitely feel bet after a couple of days, being that I have been up here for the past few years. I haven't been back in the pass so since Pro Day. So I did have to get used to being that high an elevation again. But being in UTEP, I felt that I was in pretty good shape anywhere else that I went because we were so high in the mountains. But I did have to get used to it a couple

of days. I think that played in my favor that we did practice a couple of days with them and then play living game. It definitely did help. Roy Robertson Harris our guest here on Bear's All Access brought to you by IGS Energy, Jeff and Time with You as well. Paul's Rang our engineer, and Dan really our producer and helping things out at how to Saw. Now that's some good research right there, because I didn't even come into my head that UTEP is a higher elevation. I had

never been down there. With our experiences coming from the Midwest and college, going Notre Dame to Air Force, or going from Chicago to play Denver Broncos and stuff. I just, you know, that was always in our minds because we didn't have experiences. Maybe when you're a younger person you have a little bit of experience with elevation, you kind of know what to expect. Yeah, I mean I had to ask Danny, hey, how's elevation is it? Is it

really what people expect? And he's like, oh man, it's it's real out there, like you're gonna you know, make su you need to hidrate properly and make sure you control your breathing. And then I thought back was like, well, I played a no passo for four years five with the rich shirt, it shouldn't be too bad. And sure enough I got my second win. In the middle of practice, you know, things started to get better. And then obviously in the game, you practice with them for two days,

had a mock game, things like that. After a while you get you get pretty used to it. But the funny thing, as you come off the bush, the first thing you see is this big right though altitude sickness and all this business. But they remind you on the side of the stadium too. It says five eighty fee. They make sure that you know that. You know, most defensive linemen, when it's not their period, they get a chance to rest or relax. You're on kickoff return, you're

on extra point and field goal protection. You're on extra point and field goal block. So for a guy like you, because you're such a good athlete. Sometimes your coaches are attempted to get you more involved than some other guys. I've spent my entire career, from my first game to my last game on kickoff return. Yeah, how as a defensive player, how are you absorbing and accepting that role. I love the fact that coach wants me on special teams.

As I've gotten to this point, I think, I think the fact that we played in Denver in the elevation, I'm like, okay, you know, maybe I don't know, but the fact that I have these roles, it makes me feel good that coaches trusting me that I can't play defense and play special teams. But as time goes on, I feel like, you know, I've been more focused on playing defense. I feel like special teams. I played a whole year starting on punk return, starting on kick off return.

I felt comfortable enough, Hey, let me focus more on defense reverse. Last year I was more focused on, Hey, special teams. I gotta make the team. That's how you're gonna do it. I drafted rookie things like that. Defense. Defense will come because I'm not getting as many reps. Now it's reverse, I'm getting all. I'm getting all these reps in the game, all these reps in practice, and it's reverse special teams. I'm not really getting any reps because I mean, we don't know how the how it's

all gone unfold. The extra point field will protection where your job is this difficult? You know you had he has two guys. He is an inside guy who's got to be long enough to get the outside. He's long enough, right, we know, no, Um, you know Steve McMichael did the same role when I was here, a defensive lineman who was talented. And when I see you in that role out there, I can see, Okay, I know why Royce

picked for that. Well. The path is quite similar in many respects to Israel Adnager when he was here, a big body player like yourself who cut his teeth on special teams and would run down the field. At his size, as you guys are are very similar to that size. It was pretty scary for the guy that he was going to get hit by. But then he evolved and they they yollowed his weight constantly. So one year he was this and he was inside, next year is this

he's outside. You've been building ever since college, your weight to what it is, right, now you said earlier about two ninety five, Is that right? Do you feel comfortable with that? You still swift quick? You feel good about that? I feel pretty good. Um. One thing I would say the fact that I played a lot of special teams last year. I do feel that I was more comfortable at that weight, being that I didn't play that many

snaps on defense. Now that I'm a little bit heavier, I'm sitting here like, uh, should I lose maybe five pounds if I do have to play a lot of special teams this year. So it's kind of like it's kind of a waiting game because preseason I haven't had to play really that many special team snaps at least part return, kickoff return. I only did two or three kickoff return snaps this the other day. Punt return, I haven't played any snaps. And then field goal, you're taking

two steps, You're not really gonna feel it. So would that be a personal choice that you could present to your coaches or do they tell you, hey, you know right, me and Jay spoke about the weight. He does want me at two ninety five, and that's to be a little more stout on double teams, you know, taking on guys in the run things like that, but it would be a little more tougher for me to have to run after guys on punt return to get blocks. If I'm two ninety five, it's a little bit different. Lashout

was two eighty five. So I think it'll be a personal decision, you know, maybe get down to about ninety ninety two. I feel like I've strength trained pretty well over the summertime, and if I were to play at ninety ninety two, I still play the same on defense as well as playing on special teams. Roy Robertson Harris, our guest here on Bears All Access, will pick up the conversation where he left it off his offseason work, what he did in the gym and in the boxing ring.

That's Roy Robertson Harris here on Bears All Access with Tom There, Jeff Jony Act on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy, a proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity, natural gas, and home warranty products to over one million customers across the country. Learn more

about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff Jony act Tom there, and I guess Roy Robertson Harris the big defensive end, how to bring his third year here with the Bears and off to a heck of a start. And a lot of the roots of your off season was built in the gym and you went to various different lengths to get yourself in the condition you wanted. What was the plan, how was it executed, and why

did you choose to do what you did? So Jay talked about boxing a lot anytime we've done workouts and OTAs he trying to throw a little bit of boxing in there. So hey, let me try this. Let me see how I feel comfortable with. You know, in the summertime, so poundful pound boxing over in Highland Park. Got in contact with them and twice a week I will go in there hand speed. Well, first we do we do a little bit of conditioning, so we'll do one minute

intervals and do three rounds, about five different workouts. Dog tired after all done. And then we get in the ring. We do a lot of different hand speed drills and get on the heavy bag. You gotta take on double teams, so why not work on the heavy bag. And then I also worked with Chuck Smith over in Atlanta. We did a lot of pass rush moves and things like that, working on double hand swipe, working on the stab, little things like that to just help with my pass rushing

in the games. I feel like, UM, that made a huge difference so far and UM definitely want to take that into the regular season. Chuck played for the Atlanta Falcons and tutors a ton of pass rushers. Now are you telling me x NFL players now the audience? You know what's cool about your room is I really like the energy that Jay Rogers brings upon you guys every day if you come out there. Uh it's not you're not going to be that way, but you know, outside a team, I like the youth in the room because

you gotta pull. You have to pull Jonathan, Jonathan Bullard's gotta push you. You gotta push John Jenkins, He's got to push you. Eddie and the whole crew. You know, you do have that enthusiasm from your position coach, where I think is really important because offensive defense every day practice is kind of monotonous. But he's a type of guy that can cultivate that young talent on this team, no doubt Jay is a real energetic guy. Even in meetings,

he's he's real, he's real upbringing, he's real positive. Um, he brings it out to the practice field. If we're I'm all sluggish, he's, hey, we have that juice out there today. Let's make sure we bring the juice every single day. That's Jay. And that's one thing I do like about Jay is he makes sure that he's real positive with this every single day. Hey, let's get it going today. If you're having a bad day, let's make sure we get out in the practice field and make

it a good day. I think that's one of the things about the fundamentals and the techniques have offered some defensive lineman. You've got to be positively reinforced every day, whether you're in high school or college, and even especially at this level, because the talent you're seeing every day is different. And that's the thing. So you go in the first two preseason games, you go out there and you play against the guys, and it's the first time

they see you and you see them. So now you've got a series of one on ones and different type of tempo periods with the Denver Broncos. Did that help you in the game or did it make things a little bit different? I feel like it definitely helped me in the game. You'll see, like one on ones, you'll see the way guys set you see, Hey, this guy's gonna jumps at you. He's gonna sit there and wait for you. All right, that's the opportunity for one move

or another. So definitely two days, two old days, two practices with these guys, I think it made a big difference, and you're able to see what guy's tendencies are in practice and what they're gonna do in the game. You know, you're a long guy in one of your best moves as your hand right to the middle of the offensive lineman's chest and they can't stop you because they can't touch and you're driving back. So you get an offensive guard.

Offensive guard imuc's got stumpy little arms. Are you licking your chops because your length is such an asset and pass right, No doubt. That's one thing that I feel

like Jay has helped me with. It's making sure that I use my length to my advantage, especially if a guard ass shorter arms, and um, I try to make sure that that's something I'm practicing every single day, whether it's during one on ones team periods, if we're just working on you know, individual just hey, work on that stat working on getting your arms out, making sure you're striking a guy in the chest. That's something I've made

an effort to working on every single day. That's what happened to Ron Learry in the game on Saturday night, that left arm. And we talked about with Jay Rodgers at practice before training camp, ended about unlocking the hands of his guys, in particular Leonard Floyd, and I'm certain that applies to you as well, and everybody that's rushing the passer um at Brandon Staley talking about that for

Leonard Floyd obviously the outside linebacker. But so the Denver post apparently did how long it took to get pressure on case keenum They timed it or whatever, and so it took two point eight nine seconds, And that's that's that's the time it took for you to put the left hand in the chest and wrap up the quarterback. But those thirty three and a half inch ore, is that what it is? Thirty three and a half I don't know. I didn't get pretty long. I didn't go

to the combines. Yeah, the half sack or the individual sack. That was when he grabbed him. Remember I said he was it was like a raptor frying out because it was it was really Yes, you really did it with one arm. Yeah, I mean that's the beauties I have in long arms. Um. I trying to make sure if I if I can't get to a quarterback, I at least reached for him and it hit him. Miss I either get him or you know, he'll step up and go. But um, you know, thank god I was able to

get him down. I think I got the same exactly. The players look identical to each other, one in the Hall of Fame game and the one I had in Denver um looking at it on film. But um, I feel like I got the job done. And it's not about how cute is get it. Get the quarterback down and get it to that. Hey, when you're mugging the quarterback, it doesn't matter what it looks like. It's exciting, nonetheless, which which drives me to think, what it is a

what if scenario? So if you were, say two seventy five to two ninety as a college defensive end with your hand down on the ground, what kind of damage might you have done because you didn't rush. You weren't asked to rush the passer as much in college you're outside linebacker. They did a lot of zone blitzing, a lot of zone type of pressures. Do you ever think about that if it would have started that way? Being well I was, I was actually a defensive and just

in a different system. Um, we did a lot of four two five, right, four three? Just four three? Oh wasn't fourty three? Is everything I read? They say it was a four two five? It wasn't accurate. Yes, it was, so we ran. We did run a lot of zone pressures, and it was it was tough to rush. Anytime I did get a chance to rush, it was we ran well. I mean conference, you would say it's a passionate league. Everyone's in the shotgun, everyone's quick pass out. You only

got two seconds to get to the quarterback. So, um, I feel like I didn't get enough opportunities to rush us With the zones, you know, we're either drop into a flat to or running back, fullback, tight end or running you know, for the safeties to come through and or mike'st you know, rush and get get themselves saction. I did feel comfortable in that defense, but at the same time, I wish I did have more opportunities. But now we're here, can't live in the pass and just

trying to get better here in the NFL league. How about your evolution as a defensive player against our po specifically because you are in a position of influence and how they're going to run that play? Has it? Has it changed your approach or do you just have to play with more awareness according to the down and distance formations and personality you see, it's all about the aware this. Um, you have to know the down in distance. Um, it's all about watching film. What you know what you see

on film. Hey, these guys are gonna run this on this down. These guys are gonna U on this down. Um, it's all about studying your opponent and seeing what they're gonna do at the end of the day. In terms of the run game, is your size? How do you maintain pad level and stick to it in your head? Because the first thing you do is you just go you you go back to what you know right to make the play right. Being being six six, it is tough for me to keep low pad level. Um, and

Jay gets on me about that every single day. Hey, this is what you need to work on your pad level and your feet. Um, I think if I if I get my pad level lower, I'd be just fine as a player. The downfalls and the negative plays that I do have is because of my height. I get up and I stand straight up, and um, that's been I think since I've been playing ball, that's been one of my toughest things. Kalais Campbell makes it look easy. But yeah, I mean he's Kalais Campbell. I'm not so

yet yet. That's right, big time. Yet, the potential is unlimited. You must realize that potential. To me, it's some's someone that ain't done nothing. So I'm, you know, trying to get past the potentially and I want to be I want to be one of the greats, trying to learn from other guys in the room and be the best player I could be. Roy robertson Harris Bears Defensive End. Joining us here on Bears All Access will continue with Tom Fair Jeff Joniac on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy

The Score. Get the latest Bears news, photos and videos delivered straight to your mobile device. Download the Chicago Bears Official Mobile at presented by a Verizon. Segment three with Bears defensive en Roy Robertson Harris with Tom Fair and Jeff Joniac breaking down what's happened so far and still a ways to go before the season opener. It feels like it's felt like a real long journey, hasn't it. So this is the longest preseason training camp I've been through,

But it's all worth it. We're going to win games this year and do what we can to be one of the best teams. Ask him along one of his personally, it's worth it for you because you know Roy, realistically, the more opportunities you get to shine in front of the coaches, the more you're going to upgrade your opportunities. Hey, here you are your college free agent. Today, you're meeting the media. You've been through a position change, and now

you've got multiple sacks in the preseason. The opportunity you're creating for yourself has to be pretty encouraging for you personally when you come to work. Oh yeah, sir, I definitely love the fact that the coaches are giving me the opportunity to get more snaps. Last year I was running with the threes. Now I'm running with the ones and road stating with bulls to you know, get these

snaps in. But I definitely love the fact that Jay is trusting me, and hey, I want you to I want you to start off and I want you to, you know, get as many snaps as you can in the game and in practice. And I feel like it's getting me better. And just like I said, giving me an opportunity. Can I put a little bit more pressure on you. I've been talking to I've been talking about this with Jeff. Yeah, he's this is the day of the season. The success and failure this football team is

gonna be decided by the nineties. That's ninety ninety one, ninety five, ninety four, in ninety nine, and and that's well ninety six. I'm kind of putting him on a pedestal, but I think that that's that side of that. And I mean the Bear, the guys in the Bears jerseys in those ninety numbers, Eddie Goldman, yourself, Lynch and so I really think that this was a top ten defense last year. This team defense gets in the top five, you guys are gonna have a lot of the responsibility

for that, I would think. So I mean the I mean games are won on defense. We've been taught that since we've known the game of football. Um, and I feel I feel great to be a part of this defense. We got a lot of great guys on the front seven, and um don't I mean we got great dvs. Two. But being being a defensive and playing on that front seven, it's a humbling experience. UM. I love the guys I'm around. We got some great team leaders, guys like a team

and and Danny, I feel like there there are defensive leaders. Um, I think we're gonna do great things this year. Three years ago, I believe it was April eighteenth, you got a private workout here with the Bears and you're in the same car I think, going back to the airport with Leonard Floyd. So you guys struck a relationship right then and there, and you've seen each other grow and

you've seen what he's going through. Now another injury. Sadly, hopefully it'll it'll something to be able to play through. And with the hand injury, broken bones in his hand, so they're gonna see if they could cast it up and let them go to work. How is he Uh, he's got to be frustrated because that you know, that's something that happens to players obviously, but it's been successive seasons of trying to overcome something. Right. I talked to Flow,

He's doing good. Um, his mindset is good. He's real positive right now. Um. At the end of the day, it's part of the game. Injuries happening, and at this point it's just a waiting game seeing where he's at. Um, there's not too much I could say about it, but from what I've from what he's told me, he's he's doing fine. Is miset is great, He's ready to play. You know, I think he got a reflection of Leonard Floyd being able to recover and take part in every

play a training camp recovering from the knee injury. I think that's a reflection of how important it is that player. So whatever, you know, this is not a setback. It's just something that you go through during the course of having a career. You know, my brother in law had a bad finger and played with a stump on his hand for eight weeks. I'm not saying that's Leonard, but you know, a guy like Leonard has proved to a

lot of people that it is important to him. And I think he's got the feet in the athleticism and the length to if he can play, to play well. Lear, He's gonna do fine. Um. He does a good job of recovering. Um, you know, guys, guy saw how well he took part in making sure the recovery stuff. It was important to him coming in with his knee, and he did. I think he did a really good job and training camp and taking care of his body so um with his hand, I think he's gonna be just fine.

He's gonna recover very well. He's gonna come in and be flow. Roy Robertson Harris our guest here on Bears All Access brought to you by IGS Energy with Tom there, Jeff Joniac. Going back even further in your life and the stories we read that people have done on you, and there was a lot of stories are written about players leading up to the draft. The love of the game wasn't quite there initially in your career, right, tell us why tell us that story? Oh I didn't. I

didn't really like sports when I was a kid. Um, when I first started playing football, I didn't like hitting. I didn't like getting hit. I told I told my coach I wanted to play receiver, and he said, okay, cool, the old lineman are down there. I wanted to go play right tackle. I was upset. I didn't know what to do. There was one day I told my mom I didn't want to play anymore and sold up to practice, just hating it. I didn't like it, and once I

moved to Texas, things started changing for me. I was a little bit bigger than most of the kids, played a little bit of tight end, and then switched over the defensive end, defensive end back to tight end, outside linebacker, and then early in high school I told my coach I wanted to play safety and he's looked at you're wearing at that time. Then, this was my freshman year of high school. I was about six three, not even

two hundred pounds yet I was still super small. I say about one eighty five maybe one ninety at the very most, and I remember asking my coach, hey, I want to play safety. I want to, you know, I wanted to be Troy Paulamalu. That was my guy as a kid. And he looked at me like, I don't know what you're thinking you're too big. You know, it was no safety in the NFL that big, and so m I stayed on defense to play defensive end, a little bit of tight end back and forth, and then

going into my junior senior year, that was it. I stayed on defense and got real comfortable and the rest is history. I'm here and playing for the greatest team in the league right now. It's an awesome experience. As to hear that story, right, Yeah, Austin Journey. You know, well, I think of a guy like him, who's got his entire life that hid the football. He always tells the story about when he went his mom took him to practice it, you know, the midget football or whatever it was.

He cried every day my first two years. I cried every day any way to practice. My mom would push me out of the car and say, hey, you'll stop crying when you see your friends. Because when you're a big guy, you know you're not choosing a position. The position has been chosen for you by birthright, So I'm not gonna be anything other than an offensive lineman. Luckily

you had the athleticism to be a defensive lineman. But you know, it's not the funnest up positions when you go out there as an eight year old kid to an open field and start, you know, banging yea out there. Well I was. I was twelve when I started playing,

so I was a little bit older. Um the guys that because the divisions we were playing it was all based on weight, right, So all the other guys that I was playing with, all my teammates, were fourteen fifteen, and I was twelve, so I'm the youngest, but you know, I'm one of the biggest guys. Um. But I hated it. One day, I actually did have a crime store. I remember coming coming back to the car and my Mom's like, what's wrong. So I don't want to do this no more.

I don't want to play. I'm tiring of this. These guys are hitting me and this and that and uh, I mean she she didn't, Hey, this is what you wanted to do. This is you know, you chose to play. You chose to sign up for football, so um, you have to you have to thug it out for the rest of the season. So that's what I did, and um, you know, ended up moving to Texas, and obviously Texas is football country, so um got more comfortable and um,

like I said, the rest is history out here. And that was a Dallas area, right, Dallas area from Oakland. Was that tough for you as a because now you're a young team. I mean, at the end of the day, it was, it is what it is. Uh, I had really no choice. It was either you stay in the Bay Area you come with us to Texas, and I chose to move. And ye know, at first I didn't

like it. I say, the first year I didn't like it and started making more friends and yeah, from time to time, I'll still talk to guys from back home in Dallas, still keeping contact with everyone in the Bay So, but yeah, I did at first, I didn't like it. I hated it, to be honest. You ever watched Friday Night Lights when it was on the TV show, the movie the TV show, That show was one of my

favorite TV shows of all time. Well, after the break, we got to talk about it because I kind of got caught into binge watching that and it's about high school technas football. One of the greatest books I read. That book. Well, let's bring it out back wall, share stories about Friday Night It Lights here with right Robertson Harris kind enough to join us and spent a significant

amount of his a day with us. You're on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy to score the youngest twenty five preseason game against the Chiefs coat up on Saturday, brought to you by Hall of Fame partner United Airlines. The first twenty five thousand fans entering Soldier Field received a Bears schedule magnet courtesy of United Airlines United, probably flying the Bears for over forty years. Roy Robertson Harris our guest with Tom There Jeff Joniac.

Before we went to the break, we were talking about Friday Night Lights, the book, the movie in the series in time. You said you were a binge watcher of that show, right, because Roy's from Texas and those I you know, I had a successful high school program, but you watched the fabricated TV shows just everything that's poured into Texas high school football, you know, the support of the signs in the yard, the crowds and everything like that.

Did you have that experience with Texas football at that age or was it something that's kind of blown up in our minds for the TV show South Grand Prairie, Texas High School. South Grand Prairie is a little bit of a bigger town than the fictional Dylan High School, and obviously Odessa. Odessa is a small town, but they're all about Odessa Permian being in a bigger city. Grand Prairie is actually right next to the city of Dallas. So they're not shutting stores down, They're not shutting the

whole city down. I'll go to our games. Plus we have Rand Parade which is on the north side. That's our arrival. Um so you got two games going on in the city. Um, so they're not shutting it down to go to you know, either or games. But the like playing in the games, it's like it was like college. Like the band's playing. Everyone's screaming their their lungs out, you know, cheering for us. We score touchdown, we make plays on defense. The experience of playing in Texas was phenomenal.

You can't you can't play high school ball anywhere else. That's playing and simple. Um, what you see in the movies and the TV shows is very true, but you're only seeing that in the small towns like Odessa. Everyone shuts the whole city down to go to the games, everyone shuts the city down. Hey, we're going in the state where the whole city is gonna travel on the state. Um,

I didn't get a chance to play in state. We played Uless Trinity in the first round of the playoffs and uh we actually played them pretty good, but they went on in At one statement, were there any other NFL players on that field that day other than Roy Robertson has not that I know of. I know there was a running back they had, Uh, Tevin Williams. I think he went to Oklahoma and then um Brandon Carter he went to TCU. Everybody else just a memory, which

is the bulk of players. When you think about it's the whole. It's the funnel effect that I always talk about. Everybody plays. That funnel gets real small when you start to get to two percent is definitely real or the one percent? What is it now that people are saying the one so was the was the heat extreme? Because now the conditions you're playing here, they got as many beautiful manicured fields outside here, the whole facility here in Househall.

Did you have to live through the extreme heat of Texas and the kind of because if he can live through that. It's kind of a springboard going Okay, I have a measurable desire to be able to do this, but these conditions are more perfect in the middle or better up here, well being being in Texas. You get used to it because you have to. I mean, you can't just pray for snow in Texas. So I mean

you live through it. Eventually, your body gets used to it, and um, you know, you can't really do much complaining because it's not gonna say it's it's gonna be there whether you like it or not. And then you choose to play the sport, so you can't do you can't do too much complaining about it. You get used to it. That nineteen eighty four, when I was just I was senior at Iowa State and my first job offer was Odessa, Texas at a TV station. I had never heard of Odessa, Texas.

I had no I had no idea, and he told me what I was gonna make, and I no, I think I'm gonna stay home. But I but when Friday Night Lights the book came out, I read that thing cover to cover a few times, like, man, that must have been something. Yeah, I missed that opportunity and it was high school sports. You should get you should get a globe. Yeah, I start understanding the equator at where the world is. We're here with the man A Big Xander ninety five. That's Big capital x A and d

E R ninety five on Twitter? What's the Elexander? Which Big exad? My old handle used to actually be I am Rob Harris for Robertson Harris, but everyone started calling me Rob like it was my first name. So Big Xander m Alexander's my middle name. So um my gamer tag actually on PlayStation if anybody likes to play Fortnite, I'm a Fortnite fan, it's Young Xander. Back when I had um had got my first PlayStation in college, it was Young Xander forty three. I was number forty three cars.

Now it's Big Xander ninety five playing Fortnite. Is it Roy Robertson Alexander Harris? No, no no, no, it's Roy Alexander Robertson Robertson Harris. Yeah. Everyone, So, so long story short, my mom's got married. Her last name is Robertson. My dad's last name is Harris, and uh I got the name change once I graduated from school to have robertson, Harris Alexander's just my middle name. Who's doing the Fortnite

thing with you? Everybody? Yeah, everybody, everybody. I try and engage with some of my fans on Instagram and Twitter. Um if I do get the chance to get on. We've obviously been in camp, so I haven't been on a long time, but summertime I usually get on with any of the fans that invite me, those semi invites, or they just want to play for a little bit, so I try. Kyle Long's big into the gaming to I'm not as big as Tarik and Kylor on a

different level. I never said anything about being good. I just like, I just enjoy playing it with my guys. So well. The crazy thing is that the esports thing that not just necessarily I don't know, maybe it is, but it's blowing up. I mean, they're selling out arenas with people to pay money to go watch young kids play video games. It's foreign to guy's our age, you know. And I read fifty wish I had something like that as a kid. My moms she was real big on

not letting me play the game. I had to do chores or uh, you know, read a book for an hour just to get thirty minutes on the PlayStation. But Roy, you you're an athlete, you've developed your craft, you're the entirety of your life. If you would have had access to that and you spend the hours to it, would you be the would you be in this seat? Not at all? I would be I'd be lazy, I'd be Hey, I just want to play video games all day. So I do look back and I do think, my mom,

I'm glad that you did. Um you know, limit the time that I had on a video game, because that's all I would do if I had nothing else to do, That's all I would do. Well, you know when kids and moms listen to the show and they hear you, I do think it's an important lesson because yeah, you can always create an incentive or give them amount of time to play the games, but you still have to cultivate you as a person. And whether you're a cross country to football, you know you got to take advantage

of that as an outstanding point. Well, absolutely, I think the I think the difference obviously, like back then I was a kid, I didn't know what was good for me. Now, that I'm at this level and I have a family to feed. I know myself, Hey, I can't spend too much time doing this because I have to do that. I have to go train, I have to go to practice. I have to eat the right things, little things like that. You know. I have to make those decisions because I mean,

it's a job. It's you know, no longer, Hey, I'm gonna go play football with my friends out in the park. I have This is a living now. So you know, the young kids that are hearing this, you know, do listen to your parents. And when they do say hey, get off the game, it's because they know what is good for you. You don't know yet because you're so young. You won't know until you graduate from college. Because even

in college, I wasn't having the right decisions right. You and I did a story last year on radio for a short little segment I do, and we talked about your dad, Howard, and how he got you up crack of dawn every day. That story reminded me exactly what that was all about. What aged he started doing that to you, and what impact ultimately is that made on you. Being a guy who likes to be in the gym

and get yourself right. So my dad our first year moving to Texas, it wasn't really going on, just because we were still trying to get used to moving and moving into the house and finding where we're gonna go to school, things like that. Going into my freshman year, he bought a set of weights for me for Christmas, and I looked. I was like, okay, you know this is cool. You know we lift a little bit. No, this was like boot camp, Like we're getting up five

o'clock in the morning. He comes in my room and flips my lights like, hey, get up. It ain't not like hey, many, let's go. Man, We're gonna we're gonna go work out real quick, and hey get up. I'm looking like, okay, all right, we'll see how this goes. We'll go downstairs to a bunch of cores and then we'll lift, and then around our neighborhood. I think it's a mile and a half. So he would make me run the mom I thought he was gonna do with me.

From time to time he would, but he would follow me in his car and I'd have to run the whole neighborhood, which was a mile and a half. That was before school. I would still have to go to practice. I still have to Yeah, I'd go to practice later that day spring ball. I'd get home and then i'd have to run again all the way to my swimming pool at my school. Then that I think they call it the natatorium, and he'd make me swim. Was it twenty laps so like down and back was one so

I don't have to do that. And then after that he'll take me to like Sonic. Can't get me the Sonic by my high school. They on Tuesdays they'd have like dollar burgers. So he gave me like three or four burgers, and I'm you know, he's trying to get me bigger. I'm still like two hundred pounds soaking wet. I'm still a skinny kid. And then um, we do either Sonic Burgers or we'll go to Popeye's and get the Tuesday special and two for two for one special.

So um yeah, he'll work He worked me out. It's like, hey, you do good and you kill the workout, we'll go eat. And then I had a buddy of mine that yeah, and that was that was what we did. We we're grind and then we'll go eat. You know, every single day, I'd love to eat big and if I if I worked my tail off, that was my reward. How bigger man is he? My dad is six to five, he's uh, we don't wait, he's a big he's a big guy. He's he's lost weight over time. He's son to get

back in the gym. He's working a lot, so he rarely gets that time. But he's he's constantly working. He works his tale off, take care of my moms. So I appreciate that. He's the reason why it works so hard. You know, he's taught me how to be a man and how to take care of your family. Awesome stuff. Yeah, you definitely you're digging being a dad too. Oh yeah, let's talk about that when we come back. Our final segment. Well, Roy Robertson Harris here on Bears All Access on Chicago

Sports Radio six seventy to score. This segment of Bears All Access is orchestrated by CDW. CDW people who get it, Tom There, Jeff Joniac, and our guest Roy Robertson Harris. Outstanding hour of conversation here. We really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for your time. Love hearing about your journey. And it's the first day of school around these parts. So your son, Jalen was was entered back into the mix into school, and I've seen pictures and really hearing

also about what you feel about being a dad. I think you got married right right as football started, right in your pro career, so you're a family man right from the jump. I'm all about family. Um. I prefer to have family barbecues instead of going out in the late night. Um, that's just my thing. That's how I've always been. My beautiful wife, Crystal. We have a son, Jalen, Jalen Adonis. I wanted a Donnas to be his first name, but uh, you know how it goes, happy wife, happy life. Um.

So yeah, he started school today. Is Um he's in a monastery school learning how to communicate and you know, work on social skills with other kids. And UM, so far, so good. We'll see how it goes and they come pick me up to the All right now, I'm gonna put you a lot of text, but you and that's that's hard to talk about hypothetical, But do you see yourself being like your dad in the mornings when you are an influence in the person and that your young

son's future. UM well, I'm definitely gonna let him choose if he wants to play sports. Um once well more just the encouraging of getting up in the morning, let's get the day start. I want to I want to encourage him if it's not with football or any sport in general. Whatever he chooses to do, we're gonna do it to our full potential. The way that my dad pushed me to play football, I'm gonna push my son to do whatever it is that he wants to do. Um. What I am gonna not let him do is play football.

That's that's what I don't want it unless he chooses he wants to. UM but with just the injuries that you see, I prefer him to be in uh in baseball, and in my choice, I would love him to play baseball or basketball. I say, now he grows into a six six five and a half six six offensive tackle, he's gonna make fifteen million. You know. I think he's gonna be a little bit leaner than so he I think if he does play football, he'll he'll be a

defensive end. Um if he if he takes to his mom's side, he'll be a little bit smaller and wait, he might be a receiver. Well that's what I love about your dad. You know, from from weightlifting to swimming, Yeah, that's that's a big gap of sports opportunities. And you know, swimming is one of the most difficult individual sports because it's just not easy to do. So I think next to boxing, swimming would be my next most difficult training

um that I've ever done. Boxing is fun, is good, you know, everyone wants to, you know, see what you put the dukes up, things like that. But U but swim twenty laps and see how you feel. You can't even feel yourself sweating obviously because you're wet. But but yeah, swimming is one of the toughest workouts I've ever done in my life. Your first cousin played for the Saints,

and time certainly knows. Carl Nix, Oh yeah, two time pro bowler, outstanding player, and boy talk about a tough man as a day is long as a nasty offensive lineman right there? How close were you guys? Or are you guys? And as he giving you any during the process of getting to where you are today has helped you in any way. Oh, I'll talk to Carl every now and then. Um, he's in he's in California with his family, so um, it's rare that we do talk.

When we do, it's hey, you're you're doing what you gotta do to take care of your family, enjoy the moments and train your butt off. I trained with his dad, my uncle. He trained me when I was in high school getting ready for my junior year, so I got to spend some time with him, and he's another reason why I was able to to elevate my game going into going in the varsity because I was coming from JV. So he did help me a lot when it came to coming up and getting ready to talk to schools

that were coming to visit me. You know, Tom, when we've painted this picture, thanks to you talking to us this way about your life and be so willing to explain everything all your journey. I'm sitting here evaluating and putting all together and I've painted this picture. How many people have really touched you and helped you get and take this big bodied individual and help craft him into an NFL football player. Do you feel that do you realize that that you know people? Because maybe of you,

of your size. They don't want it to go to waste. They've helped you become the man you are as a football player and as a human being. Yeah, there's definitely, Uh, there's definitely people out there. Um. I can name a long list of names that people that's just been out there's been there. Just hey, you're a big dude. You don't realize your potential that that word potential has been thrown at me since high school. You're my head coach

used to call me mister potential. Um. So it was just like, hey, you know, you don't want this big body to go to waste. You know you have a lot of talent, you have a lot of this, You have a lot of that. Don't don't let it go to waste. Um. And I feel like I've done, you know, the things necessary, but there's also more that I can do. There's always more. Um. Another thing. Now, I'm gonna go

back to Jay Rogers. The one thing that I do love about him is he'll tell me, Hey, make as many mistakes as you can so you only know the right way to do it. And that has been one thing that help has helped me um along this way. Well, all those people would help you. That's why you say I'd rather go to a family barbecue than I would to a club, which is nice. Have you ever been threatened by a three point stance on the offensive side

of the ball. Well, no, that's the thing about it is, it seems like every good defensive lineman, you know, they they're going home, and I'm so glad they don't put me in a three point stance to be an offensive lineman. Was there any you know some coach maybe looked in saying, oh, Roy, you could be a heck of an offensive tackle. Or I've heard that a few times a year ago, whenever I started to put a little more weight on I've heard a couple of guys tell me, oh, yeah, you

look like you could play tackle. You'll be a real athletic tackle them. I played offensive line my first year playing football, and it was I mean, I can't I hate to say big guys have that fighting line. It sucks to say, but I didn't enjoy that. I'd rather

play defense, defense a lot more fun. Sack the quarterback, make everybody happy, Well continued to You're off to a great start this season, so Roy Robertson Harris our guest this week on Inside the Bears, Joel Eway, Booneyway looks back at his emotional draft night, and Spice Adams catch us up with his former teammate Johnny Knox. Inside the Bears airs Saturdays six pm on CW fifty Chicago and Sundays at ten thirty five on Fox thirty two Chicago.

You can also watch show segments online at Chicago Bears dot com or on the Chicago Bears official app. That's Gonna do it for us? Tonight All Access brought to you by IGS Energy Thanks to Roy Robertson, Harris, Dan Barelli, pauls Range and four time There, I'm Jeff, Johnny Ak, Kurt Lawrence and Tony Killh helping us out as well. Thanks for listening, everybody, have a great night. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears All Access.

Podcasts are available on Chicago Bears dot com and on iTunes board download the official Bears mobile app. Bears All Access has been brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by CDWPNC and Ford