Ever since Eddy Pineiro began practicing for the Chicago Bears, players and coaches alike have all said he has a sort of “swag” about him.

He’s not necessarily cocky, but he knows what he’s capable of and believes he’s ready for the bright lights when he and the Bears take on the Green Bay Packers on the lakefront.

A story from one of the broadcasting legends may shed some light on where his swag comes from.

Al Michaels, the legendary voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, talked with ESPN 1000’s Waddle and Silvy show about the Thursday night matchup.

Michaels has seen his fair share of the Bears in 2018, calling four games, including last year’s opener against the Packers and the wildcard matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. He teased a story about the Bears kicker that he’ll go into during the game.

“He gets it, he’s one of those guys that understands where he is, he’s thrilled for the opportunity” says Michaels. “This is a guy who kicked an 81-yard field goal with the wind in practice somewhere. It’s crazy stuff.”

Michaels then revealed Pineiro had a much larger competition pool than the one this summer with the Bears.

“He won a kicking competition at the Nick Saban kicking tryout camp in Alabama a few years ago. He beat 500 guys!” Michaels said. “They offered him a scholarship to Alabama and he accepted. And when it came time to sign and put his name on the dotted line, he said he couldn’t do it and went to Florida.”

While fans will need to wait until the game to hear the rest of that story, it seems clearer than ever that Pineiro is ready for his time to shine. The 500 kickers may be a slight exaggeration, but you need talent and toughness to impress Alabama coach Nick Saban and convince him to offer you a scholarship on the spot.

Pineiro will finally be able to put any doubts to rest on Thursday night.

During the preseason, he converted 8-of-9 field goal attempts and made 3-of-4 extra points. He was the lone kicker on the roster for the final two preseason games after his competition, Elliott Fry, was released in mid-August.

When Pineiro converts his first field goal attempt of the season, chances are he’ll show some of that swag everyone talks about. After all, who wouldn’t show that raw emotion after consistently beating your competition?