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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — You don’t have to dig too deep to understand how much the Chicago Bears value outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt.

In the aftermath of the disastrous 2014 season, Hurtt was one of only two position coaches retained when John Fox took over the keys to the franchise. Not only was he retained, but Fox took the assistant defensive line coach and promoted him, putting Hurtt in charge of the Bears’ edge rushers. Hurtt did so well last year that former offensive coordinator Adam Gase wanted to take him to Miami when he got the head coaching job, but the Bears reportedly blocked the move because it was a lateral jump and they didn’t want to lose him.

Three months later, general manager Ryan Pace moved up two spots in the NFL Draft and selected Leonard Floyd, handing the raw, explosive edge rusher over to Hurtt to develop.

PODCAST — Intentional Grounding, Episode 41: Clint Hurtt Breaks Down Leonard Floyd’s Game

No one has had a more intimate day-to-day look at the Bears’ shiny new pass rusher than Hurtt. In a lengthy conversation with reporters off the Olivet Nazarene University practice fields Thursday, Hurtt discussed what he has seen from Floyd so far and painted a bright future. Everything in italics is added to provide better context to Hurtt’s commentary:

Starting with the scouting report, here’s what Hurtt had to say about what Floyd has done well so far:

“He has done well with some of the things in the run defense, holding down the edges, holding down with force, playing with the length and the heavy hands that we saw coming out of college with him playing with excellent length. You know, excellent athlete out in space … He’s got an excellent get-off, an excellent burst to close, but he still has to refine what he’s doing with his hands. That’s something we were talking about when he came out of college.”

Because Floyd lacks the obvious girth of most NFL pass rushers, he needs to be near perfect with his hands, using his length to his advantage.

“He has to work at his skill in the pass rush, being quicker and faster with his hands … Still working on shedding blocks. Skill ability in the pass rush … And obviously still working on tearing off of blocks in the run game … He’s not going to be a heavy guy in the run game like maybe a Pernell (McPhee) or a Lamarr (Houston) might be.”

But Floyd possesses a different skill set than McPhee and Houston. He’s more explosive off the ball and his length is an advantage. That’s why Hurtt and the Bears believe he has a bright future.

“He has to use his athleticism to his advantage, because he has the benefit of knowing where the ball is and the blocker doesn’t. The blocker knows where the ball is going to start but he doesn’t know where the play’s going to finish. So (Floyd) has to use his athleticism and his feet and balance to help use blockers’ aggressiveness against them to help him shed some blocks. So yeah you treat that a little bit differently off the ability of the player.”

One of Floyd’s best and most unique assets is his ability to bend so low to the ground, allowing him to turn the corner quickly against offensive tackles.

“It’s a very unique skill. It’s something you can’t teach. He just has it. His ability to bend, the flexibility, the fluidity in his hips, obviously is uncanny. And his feel in the rush — when to take inside moves, when to dip his inside pad when he gets on the edge — and once he understands what to do with his hands, so people can’t get into his body, he can be special.”

But when you get so low to the ground, offensive linemen will counter by simply pushing you down off your feet…

“When you don’t use your hands, that can happen. And it showed (on Floyd’s college tape). That happened a little bit in college cause he felt like he could just run around everybody. That’s not going to happen in the NFL. It didn’t happen in the SEC every week. And I built cut-ups from what he did in college when he had success and from when he didn’t have success, so he can see that this happened in college (and) it’s going to be worse in the NFL. This is why we have to do this. And there’s days he’s been very clean and very fluid with his hands, and other days he hasn’t been. But like I said, you can see it on tape and he takes those reps in very humbly. (He takes) hard coaching, doesn’t fight back against it and continues to improve.”

But Floyd still needs a power move, which is something Hurtt — a former defensive lineman — has been working with him on since Day 1. Hurtt explained how Floyd can develop a power move without ideal strength:

“We actually had an excellent one yesterday with his speed rush and his speed is able to make (offensive) tackles turn their shoulder pads and that’s when (tackles) get their feet crossed over. Well, that’s what sets up the power rush, because if (an offensive lineman) doesn’t have a base underneath him, then (the pass rusher) can transition to power. So it’s not always about how much the guy bench presses, but how much explosion can he generate off one step, how quickly can he get a foot in the ground and redirect into a tackle when a guy gets his shoulder pads turned and his feet crossed? And he had a great one yesterday on that.”

Of course, offenses are combatting quicker pass rushes with quicker throws…

“Well, yeah, you get a lot of quick throws in today’s game too, so, it still works itself out. That’s where (Floyd’s) height and the length come into play so he can bat some balls down too.”

Unlike, maybe, say, Shea McClellin, the Bears seem to have a good grasp of what Floyd is — and what he isn’t.

“You play to what your talents are. Don’t do something that’s outside of yourself. Use your talent and your abilities to your advantage … Build (Floyd’s) rush and the things around what he does well. Don’t force a guy to do something that just does not fit.”

On the personal side, Floyd might be the most polite player on the entire roster, but Hurtt maintains the rookie has a nasty side too.

“He definitely has the edge to him that a lot of people may not see because he is really polite. Every time he says ‘sir’ I’m like, listen, I’m not even 40, I don’t want to be called sir all the damn time. But he is legitimately a very respectful, humble kid. He has an excellent work ethic to him. He does have a nasty side, a nasty streak to him, which I absolutely love.”

Hurtt said “it feels great that they have that confidence in me” to coach Floyd up and he described how he’s going to do that:

“Grinding him every day. I’m not going to take it light on the kid. I don’t do that with anyone else, so I’m going to grind on the little things, the details of playing the position, and demand the best out of him. Obviously, build his rush and the things around what he does well … And I see those things flashing in practice, which is what I want to see, but now we got to get to the level of consistency.”

So what are Hurtt’s expectations for Floyd?

“I think he has an unbelievable future. That has not changed. And just staying the course and building this guy up as we go along … I get extremely excited for him because of the person he is. I mean, obviously the talent speaks for itself, but you get a kid that’s humble — being humble and taking coaching is more than half the battle. Players have to be willing to accept knowledge. They have to be willing to accept information and the constructive criticism that comes with it. So when you get a young man that’s willing to do that, that’s what makes coaching fun.”

Adam Hoge covers the Chicago Bears for WGN Radio and WGNRadio.com. He also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.