Bears Rookie Logan Jones on Competing, Caleb Williams, and Why Chicago Felt Right ...Middle East

Logan Jones arrived at Halas Hall last weekend for rookie minicamp already feeling like he belonged.

The Bears’ second-round center out of Iowa didn’t need much time to figure out why Chicago felt right when he came in for his pre-draft visit. It clicked early, and it clicked hard, and listening to Jones talk through his first weekend in Lake Forest, it’s clear the feeling hasn’t faded.

“Even just being here yesterday, the team meeting with Coach Johnson, there’s just such a resemblance to the way I was coached and taught at Iowa,” Jones said. “The importance of the little things, showing up on time, the stuff that you think might not matter, matters here. I think that’s why they’re so successful. It’s because they do things right. That just clicked with me and why I loved it.”

Jones spent five seasons at Iowa under Kirk Ferentz, one of the most process-oriented programs in college football. The culture at Halas Hall felt familiar from the moment he walked in, and it wasn’t the football that sold him first.

“Honestly, just talking with Coach Roushar in his office. None of it was about football. It was just about who I was, just getting to talk about life,” Jones said of the moment that stood out most from his pre-draft visit with the Bears. “I think that was really cool. I had other visits, and that wasn’t the case at any of them. But to just sit down and talk with him, it was really cool. I had a feeling there.”

The Road to Starting

Jones steps into a room with Garrett Bradbury, a veteran who isn’t going anywhere without a fight, and a group of established offensive linemen that includes Joe Thuney. He knows what he’s walking into.

“It’s very challenging. You’ve got to go out and earn everything. And the offensive line here is very talented,” Jones said. “I’ve got to go out and earn everything. Just to be able to come in with that group and be able to learn under veterans, obviously, we’re competing, but we’re having fun at the same time. It’s such an honor for me to be able to come in and learn from those guys.”

The rookie isn’t naive about where he stands, but he’s also not here to blend in. He’s competing with the mindset of a starter while staying honest about the learning curve in front of him.

“Compete as if you’re a starter. But it’s just going to be a lot of fun,” Jones said. “The opportunity for growth and learning — this is my rookie year, and I don’t think I could ask for a better position to be in with the head coach, the guys in the offensive line room to the O-line coaches. I’m very fortunate.”

The urgency is real. Jones described his current mindset as a race against time, trying to absorb as much as possible before training camp arrives, while being careful not to let the pace of learning outrun his understanding of it.

“It’s kind of a race against time. You’re trying to get better as fast as you can,” Jones said. “In the film room, watching tape or just learning the offense, everything. There’s a lot I’m trying to do fast, but there’s some things I’ve got to slow down on a little bit, take my time so I understand the reason why we’re doing things versus like what we’re doing.”

Iowa Built Him For This

Five seasons under Ferentz have a way of shaping a player. Jones didn’t hesitate when asked what Iowa prepared him for most, and his answer didn’t start with football.

“I think most of it was just the things that weren’t about football that kind of helped me. Just how you go about your business, your approach towards everything you do, and being professional,” Jones said. “Most importantly, just having an appreciation for this game and not taking it for granted. Those are the lessons that I learned at Iowa.”

The football foundation mattered too. Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester brought an NFL-style offense to Iowa City, and Jones said the transition to Ben Johnson’s system has felt more like a continuation than a culture shock.

“They run it like an NFL organization. Coach Lester was in an NFL offense; he brought that in, which helped prepare me coming in here. There’s some similarities,” Jones said. “At Iowa, we would watch the Bears. Just watching the way they did things, the outside zone, running off the football. I come here, and the fundamentals are the exact same. It’s all just very similar in the way that it’s taught.”

The Scheme Fits

Jones didn’t hide his enthusiasm for Chicago’s wide zone running game, the same scheme he ran at Iowa, and the one he believes is the best in football.

“Outside zone, wide zone they call it here. Just love to run that,” Jones said. “I think it’s the best scheme out there, honestly. Just being able to run the football, be aggressive, fast, physical, it makes it really hard on defenses. To come into that, to see Coach Johnson — he really likes that and prioritizes that. To be able to be a part of that is really cool.”

His speed is a selling point in that system, and Jones knows it. The wide zone demands centers that can reach their aim point quickly and generate displacement on the move, not just anchor and hold.

“In the wide zone, we’re running off the football, you’ve got to get to your aim point, run and get displacement on these defensive linemen,” Jones said. “These guys are really good in the National Football League. To be able to play fast, physical, get to your aim point, and just run — the backs in this league are so good, so our backs will make us right, whatever happens, happens. Just being fast and physical.”

Logan Jones on Building With Caleb Williams

The center-quarterback relationship is as important as any on the field, and Jones is already thinking about how to build it with Caleb Williams, even without the benefit of full team practices yet.

Williams made the first move. Jones said the Bears quarterback texted him right after he was drafted, which told him everything he needed to know about the kind of teammate he’s walking into.

“He texted me right after I got drafted, so obviously he’s a good dude, and he cares about this team,” Jones said. “I got to meet him when I was here the day after I got drafted, and he was pretty cool. Got to talk to him. I think it’s going to be pretty easy just to get to know him.”

The plan for now is simple: be present, communicate, and let the relationship develop naturally before things get hectic in-season.

“I think just being around the facility is the biggest thing. Gaining his trust,” Jones said. “Just talking to him, I think it starts there. Bing on the same page. I think it’ll happen naturally over time. I look forward to that.”

Jones has work to do if he hopes to open the season as Chicago’s starting center, but he’s also not here to wait his turn quietly. The foundation is right, the scheme fits, and the culture clicked before he even put on a helmet. Whether that translates into snaps in September is the question. How he carries himself between now and then will go a long way toward answering it.

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