Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, August 10, 2015

BOURBONNAIS, Illinois — The hot August sun glared down on the Chicago Bears' training facility. Security guards with their bright orange shirts and bucket hats line the outside of the practice field, separating thousands of football-frenzied fans from the action. Jerseys with names like Payton, Urlacher and Forte appear in every direction you glance.

Chicago is a city that prides itself on great running backs, from Gale Sayers to Payton, to Forte, who is set to enter his eighth season as the Bears? starting tailback. But for those who follow the NFL closely, the statistics surrounding the career-length of NFL running backs is one of the most concerning topics in today?s game. They come and go like Hollywood romances; hot one moment, and a distant memory soon thereafter. Perhaps that?s the reason the Bears front office targeted Jeremy Langford in this year?s NFL Draft.

Langford, a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State, is battling for a backup running back role behind Forte. He is well aware of Chicago?s history when it comes to producing outstanding backs.

?That?s what they do here,? Langford said following a Bears? training camp practice last week. ?Chicago loves their running backs, so if I can come in and have success here, I feel like the fans will recognize you and learn to love you here.?

It?s just the second week of training camp, but Langford is still adjusting to the idea of being an unknown commodity in new his hometown.

An overlooked recruit out of Michigan?s Westland John Glenn High School, Langford did not have a single Big Ten offer outside of Michigan State. Recruited to MSU as an athlete, he struggled to find the field in his first two seasons as he moved from running back to cornerback to wide receiver, before finally switching back to his natural position prior to the 2013 regular season.

He added 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-0 frame that offseason and spent hours watching film of the Spartans? offense and studying the running styles of previous MSU backs like Javon Ringer, Le?Veon Bell and Edwin Baker. That?s when everything changed.

Langford grabbed the attention of college football fans across the nation over the next two years, posting back-to-back 1,400 yard rushing seasons while leading the Spartans to consecutive Top 5 national finishes.

He now joins a Bears? offense that ranked 27th in the NFL in rushing last season, and is starving for young, offensive playmakers to step in and make a difference.

?It?s like I?m starting over again, kind of like I?m in my freshman year,? Langford said.? Now, it?s about gaining the trust of your new teammates and the fans."

This has been the mindset of Langford since the first day of camp this summer, but he is learning how to reinvent himself as he attempts to make a lasting impression in his first NFL season.

At one point in Wednesday?s practice, Forte took a handoff and broke off a big run down the right sideline. Fans stood up to applaud the Bears? star back as one observer shouts, ?There you go, Matt!?

The second-team offense then takes the field, and it is Langford?s turn to show off his skills. Three plays later, the rookie back catches a pass out of the backfield and takes off for a big run of his own, this one down the left sideline. A few claps come from the stands, almost like you would hear when a golfer sinks a 15-foot put on the 12th hole of a non-PGA tournament. No cheers follow. No ?there you go, Jeremy? from the stands.

?That?s life of a rookie,? says Langford, who is quick with a smile and a warm laugh. ?It?s all about making a name for yourself.?

But Langord?s play hasn?t gone completely unrecognized. He is grabbing the attention of his teammates and coaches, including Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who has been impressed with his play and intelligence out on the gridiron.

?He?s done a great job at picking up the offense, and I?m not surprised with him being from Michigan State,? Gase said. ?He?s really coming along, and his route running ability is really rare.

?You see a guy like that, and then you have a guy like Matt (Forte) in front of him, and he?s kind of seeing how he does things here. He?s got a long ways to go, but I really like where he?s at right now."

***

Langford is not the only former Big Ten star going through his first NFL training camp with the Chicago Bears. Adrian Amos, who was a standout defensive back at Penn State, is looking to work his way into a Bears secondary that ranked dead last in pass defense last season.

He was a part of the Nittany Lions' outstanding defensive unit in 2014, which led the Big Ten in scoring defense and total defense. A fifth-round draft pick, Amos knows the challenges that lie ahead in his rookie campaign.

?You realize what an incredible opportunity it is to get to play at the highest level and show what you can do,? Amos said. ?This is the ultimate goal, to be in the NFL, and to be a great player in the NFL. It?s a blessing because you get the opportunity to continue to play the game you love.?

The former Penn State star carries a calm demeanor about him as he fields questions following practice. He speaks of being recruited by smaller schools as a high school senior, and how Penn State was his first and only offer from a Big Ten program. In fact, the offer came just two weeks before singing day.

Like Langford, Amos is adjusting to life as an unknown rookie in the NFL, a far cry from his days as a star in University Park, Pennsylvania.

When asked about the most noticeable differences between college and NFL life, Amos is quick to point out the small margin for error at the professional level.

?You have to capitalize when you?re given an opportunity,? he says. ?In college, you know your guys are going to be there. Here, every day you can look to your left or your right and a guy can be gone. That?s just the way it works.?

***

While both Langford and Amos recognized the Big Ten connection when they were selected by the Bears in May?s NFL Draft, they didn?t know each other on a personal level before arriving to rookie camp. Fast-forward three months, and you will see the two laughing and jiving together off the field.

Many of those laughs stem from a YouTube video that Amos pulled up to show Langford during their time in camp. The video shows Amos making a big hit on Langford and stopping the former Michigan State running back from crossing the goal line when the Spartans and Nittany Lions clashed in a late-season Big Ten matchup back in November.

Amos got the big hit, but it was Langford who scored two touchdowns en route to a 34-10 win. The 6-0, 210 pound Langford became the first running back to top the 100-yard rushing mark against the Nittany Lions in the 2014 season, a stat that he makes sure to remind Amos of whenever he pulls up the video.

?I show him the clips, but they got the win, so he has bragging rights on me,? Amos says.

The hope is that Langford and Amos can now gain some bragging rights together, as rookie teammates on the Bears. However, they are both well aware that nothing is given in the NFL.

A total of 14 running backs and safeties (11 running backs, three safeties) were selected in the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft just four years ago. Of those 14 players, only seven are currently on NFL rosters.

The bottom line: Life in the NFL can be short. Take advantage of the time you are given.

?It?s true,? Amos says of the short careers of so many NFL hopefuls. ?In my case, being passed up on by so many teams, it makes you that much more hungry.

?When you have to work hard for it, it makes you better in the end."

Right now, both Langford and Amos are in the process of doing just that. They know this isn?t college, where everyone recognizes them walking across campus, or at the local bar or pizza parlor. There is no line of fans waiting in great anticipation for autographs, like there is for Forte, following training camp practice.

?It?s all about ?what have you done for me lately? in the NFL,? Langford says. ?And I haven?t done anything in a game or anything yet.?

He?s right. Langford and Amos still have a lot ahead of them. They have yet to take a snap in a preseason game, or land a big hit on an opposing NFL player.

If both Langford and Amos continue to work hard and make smart decisions both on and off the football field, then maybe one day they can be the next faces of a Chicago Bears team that is desperately searching for a new identity. But for now, you may be hard pressed to find anyone outside of their community who will recognize these former Big Ten stars.

For now, that is just the way they like it.