LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Without having taken a single snap in the NFL, former first-round pick Kevin White is already being compared to seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson.

Wide receiver Kevin White's size, speed and athleticism reminds his Bears position coach of seven-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

“Kevin White was one of the better receivers I’ve seen coming out,” Chicago Bears receivers coach Curtis Johnson said Friday. “He reminded me of some of the guys I had in Miami. He reminded me of Andre Johnson. He’s very similar to him.

“They’re both big and physical and fast. That doesn’t all go together sometimes. But when you see a big guy who is physical, fast and athletic, you just wonder how good this guy can really be?”

White led West Virginia in receiving with 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014, his final collegiate season.

That caught Johnson’s attention. The veteran has spent a combined 15 years coaching the receiver position at the University of Miami (1996-2005) and for the New Orleans Saints (2006-11). Johnson was head coach at Tulane the past four years before Bears coach John Fox hired him to replace Mike Groh.

“[White] has hands similar to Reggie Wayne,” Johnson said of Chicago's top 2015 draft pick, who missed all of last season after suffering a stress fracture in his left shin. “So he was one of those guys where when you looked at the draft and watched television, you say this guy is going to be a bona fide player.”

Johnson is also keeping tabs on Alshon Jeffery, who is not participating in the Bears' voluntary workouts. Johnson made a special trip to California to meet face-to-face with Jeffery before the No. 1 receiver shifted his offseason training to South Florida.

“We probably talk once a week,” Johnson said. “I went out to California just to get to know him a little bit. He didn’t know who I was, and I didn’t know who he was. But he’s a very bright young man who is smart and confident. I really liked him.”