When the Chicago Bears drafted Kansas defensive lineman Austin Booker in the fifth round in April, he didn’t shy away from the word “raw.”
The 21-year-old edge rusher played in just six games over his first two seasons at Minnesota before transferring to Kansas for the 2023 season. After totaling 56 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles in 12 games last year, he entered the NFL draft having played just 505 college snaps, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
Booker said that inexperience simply means he has a lot of room to get stronger and faster as he grows at the NFL level.
Kansas defensive ends coach Taiwo Onatolu believes in that upside.
As Booker settled in with the Bears at organized team activities in May, Onatolu took some time to talk with the Tribune about Booker’s growth in his lone season with the Jayhawks and what he will bring to the Bears.
When did you first become aware of Austin Booker as a player?
It was really during the recruiting process. It was about a year ago during December. We were looking for a player. We had lost a kid to the NFL and we were looking for someone to replace him. We were watching a bunch of guys. Austin’s film, he didn’t have a lot of film from playing time at the previous university he was at, but you saw his size and his length and he had some intangibles there.
Really, our defensive tackle coach got a hold of some of his one-on-one tape. I watched that and I saw some of his ability, and as a staff we thought: “Hey, this guy has a skill set. He’s kind of unknown a little bit, but there’s something to him.” We brought him down on an official visit. The visit went well. And the rest is history from there.
He came in in spring. He came in with me every day. He was watching film, learning, studying the playbook, getting extra one-on-one time. You liked his capacity to learn and his work ethic behind the scenes. He really wanted a change. He wanted to play, and once I started seeing that, OK, he’s trying to figure it out mentally. Because he had the physical tools, but there was something not registering early on. He learned it from there. And slowly but surely, you started to see him use his length to get off the ball, be physical, throw guys around and then that progressed into the season. He wanted it really bad and he worked hard at it.
Why was he a better fit for your team than at Minnesota?
I can never talk about anyone else and what they do in their program. We put him out on the edge, and he gets to play vertical and use his speed and his length and get off the ball and do those kind of things. We have a lot of success with guys in our system schematically. Sometimes it’s just a fit. … He was a great fit for us and he flourished underneath it. I think he felt comfortable right away. He got to play loose and was playing a loose nine- and five-technique and getting vertical and using his feet.
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What allowed him to have the breakout season in 2023?
It’s a combination of a lot of things. Some people figure things out at a different pace. He’s going into his third year of college here, and he saw: “Hey, I want to really play. What do I need to do?” I can only speak for us. He was in my office every day in the offseason trying to learn the playbook because he knew he was behind. He’s always had the skill set and tools, and for us he was just a fit. He put it all together. And it obviously paid dividends.
For Bears fans just getting to know him, what are his strengths? How do you describe him as a player?
He’s an old-school guy. He has great work ethic. Half the battle is having the work ethic. And he’s a really tough, physical dude. He doesn’t say a whole lot. Even if he’s hurt or banged up, he’s going to try to play and push through those things. That’s something to be excited about. … It’s about the little things, and he does all of the little things right. Plus, he’s 6-5, 245. He’s put on a bunch of weight since he played.
We were playing other teams with O-linemen that were really good, got drafted high, and he was taking those guys and slinging them around at 230, 235. Now he’s 245, maybe 250. And so he’s even stronger and he has so much upside. He’s got a lot of potential. He’s a skinny guy in a big guy’s body, meaning he can move like small guys, quick twitch, explosive, but he has a 6-foot-5 frame with a long wingspan, and he has really powerful hands.
Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington talked about how Booker plays with tremendous energy. What did you see from him in that regard?
He’s absolutely right. There was one point in our season where he was up there in tackles as a defensive lineman. If you turn on the film, one thing he does is he plays hard and he plays with a motor. The No. 1 thing for a coach, especially a defensive line coach: All the great (players), they have a relentless motor. They’re playing like their hair is on fire. They’re playing at a different pace.
When you turn on the film of any game, you’ll never see him loafing or having a lack of effort. He has always played hard and a lot of his stats come from second-effort plays. Rarely did he just come off the ball and get a sack. He was always getting chipped or doubled. But it was the second, third effort that got him that production. That’s one of his greatest talents, besides just his natural physical ability, is his motor. He’s really, really relentless.
Do you have a favorite performance of his?
There’s a lot of them. There were plays where he was a defensive end on one side and they would throw a spot screen on the other side. And typically the slot receiver will block the No. 1 corner, and the No. 1 receiver will catch the ball on the inside, he’ll run some kind of tunnel screen in. They could not do that to his side because he would get up the field vertically, put his foot in the ground and he’d sprint all the way to the sideline and make that play. He could cover that much ground in a little amount of time. He negated any of those kinds of spot screens, which we struggled with the year before on his side.
I would say Oklahoma was a big game. It was the last play of the game. They were ranked top six in the country. We were playing them at home. There was a timeout. We said, “Hey, we’ve got to get to the quarterback.” He got off the ball so fast and it was Dillon Gabriel. He made him step up in the pocket and throw a bad pass and then we won the game. That’s a memorable one because he forced a bad throw in the last second of the game.
Being that he didn’t play a lot in college compared with others, what does he need to do to excel in the NFL?
Just stay hungry and latch on to a good veteran guy on the team and study him and learn from those guys. He’s on the right path. He has such a big upside and there is still a lot of untapped ability there. He still has work to do and he knows that, but he has the right mindframe. Don’t ever get complacent. For me, it’s just keep attacking it. The day he showed up here wanting to learn the defense is how he should show up in Chicago. … I know he’s excited. When I texted with him and his parents, he’s excited to be part of the Bears.
He’s hungry and he’s a very confident player. He was never intimidated by any team, any tackle when we would go over scouting reports. He’s looking to get after someone every play. If they say this guy is really good, he’s going to look to prove that guy wrong. He doesn’t have a lot of fear. That’s why I say he’s an old-school guy.
What is he like off the field in terms of personality and leadership style?
Quiet. He’s kind of a homebody guy. He keeps to himself and he loves football. He works. He’s not a big hoo-rah, go out guy. He hangs out with his friends a little bit and that’s about it. He’ll hang out with his teammates. He likes to have the guys over to hang out and grill. … He’s just a quiet guy. He focuses just on football. That’s his passion. That’s what he has always wanted to do. It’s probably why he’s like: “Ah, I can’t do another year of college. My dream is to play in the NFL.” And he’s finally getting to live that.
