The Bears’ search for a kicker continued Wednesday at Halas Hall with the second known group tryout, and former University of Pittsburgh kicker Chris Blewitt emerged from the pack.

Blewitt, a free agent without NFL experience, won Jamie Kohl’s field-goal competition last month in Phoenix, and the Bears announced Wednesday evening they signed him to a contract.

The highlight of Blewitt’s college career came as a senior in 2016 when his 48-yarder in the final seconds lifted the Panthers to a 43-42 victory over second-ranked and eventual national champion Clemson. He went to camp with the Steelers in 2017 but has been looking to land a job since, and the Bears were interested after he performed well at Kohl’s camp.

Blewitt kicked for four seasons at Pitt, making 10 of 17 field goals in his senior year. His best season came as a freshman in 2013, when he made 14 of 18. He wasn’t NFL-ready coming out of college but has fine-tuned his mechanics and showed well at Halas Hall in a competition that included former Buccaneers kicker Patrick Murray, among others.

The Bears now have three kickers on the roster: Blewitt; the recently signed Redford Jones, who also has no NFL experience; and Cody Parkey. General manager Ryan Pace indicated last week the plan is to terminate Parkey’s contract after the league year starts March 13 in order to designate him as a post-June 1 cut and spread some of the salary-cap hit into 2020.

Kohl started his professional camps in 2000 and now works with kickers, punters and long snappers across the country. He counted 62 former campers on NFL rosters at the start of training camp last August. While his business is primarily designed to coach high school athletes and create exposure for players seeking college scholarships, he also works with professionals and said nearly 100 free agents or draft-eligible specialists participated in last month’s event.

NFL rules prohibit teams from attending the event because draft-eligible players are present, but the camp makes livestreams available and the Bears took an interest in the event.

“We’ve worked for 20 years to build a reputation where coaches will listen to us,” said Kohl, who compiles national rankings of high school specialists for ESPN. “Part of what we have tried to establish is a trust factor that if we get to know guys and work with them and so on, that they will actually pay attention.”

Kohl worked with Parkey previously and has spent time with Jones.

“I remember Redford when he was in high school and saw him his early years at Tulsa,” Kohl said. “I haven’t seen Redford personally in probably two to three years, but he’s obviously done a nice job getting noticed by Chicago.”

Kohl knows a performance in a tryout or even an offseason program is only the first step for a kicker hoping to stick around.

“There is a lot that goes into a season,” he said. “You have to have the physical attributes to get in the front door, but then it’s, can you handle the media, the locker room, the week-to-week ins and outs, bad performances which do occur? There is a lot to it. We’re still learning just like everybody else. I’ve gotten to see a lot of different guys that have made it and guys that didn’t make it. We try to figure it out, and there is still that little bit of spice where you’re not sure why some guys are successful and why some aren’t.

“Some of it is situational. There are some good players that, just because of a situation, haven’t been successful. Then there are other guys, like a Harrison Butker, he gets cut by Carolina and goes to the Chiefs and he is top five in any NFL statistical category when it comes to kickoffs and field goals and his production. You’ve got to have the talent and you’ve got to be at the right place at the right time and you have to handle the things that are thrown at you.”

bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

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