From a D-III school in Greenville, Ill., to the NFL: How new Bears linebacker Nicholas Morrow launched his dream

CHICAGO — Lamar Bell doesn’t claim remarkable foresight for recruiting Nicholas Morrow.

Morrow played offensive lineman for his first three seasons at Huntsville (Ala.) High School before switching to outside linebacker as a senior, but Bell saw enough film to know Morrow would be one of the better athletes on the then-Greenville College Panthers defense.

An NFL opportunity — much less a career now entering its sixth season— wasn’t a topic of conversation.

Bell, then a defensive graduate assistant and now the associate head coach/defensive coordinator, talked with Morrow about becoming a biology major and potentially entering the medical field because Division III players almost always have to plan for life off the field after college.

Morrow didn’t have many other offers. Though he lived in Hunstville, his family was from St. Louis, about 45 miles southwest of the school now known as Greenville University. Morrow’s father is a pastor, and Greenville is a Christian