Hester hit the scare at just 190 pounds | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

CHICAGO — A few years before Devin Hester began carving his name into the NFL record books with one spectacular comeback after another, Mark Sadowski was scouting a Miami-NC State game for the Chicago Bears in 2004.

He watched as the Hurricanes’ speedy sophomore punted 5 yards deep into the end zone. And in a flash, it was gone.

Hester sprinted down the right sideline and cut left en route to what was officially a 100-yard touchdown. And on it went, all the way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“It was the fastest thing I’ve ever seen live,” Sadowski said. “I was just like holy smokes, this guy is real.”

Hester will put the ultimate exclamation point on his career Saturday in Canton, Ohio, when he becomes the first player to be admitted primarily as a return specialist. He is one of three former Bears in this year’s class, along with Julius Peppers and Steve McMichael.

The NFL had never seen anyone like Hester when the Bears drafted him in the second round in 2006. And the league still hadn’t.

Hester was one of the most feared players in the NFL despite standing just 5-11 and weighing 190 pounds. He returned a league-high 14 kickoffs for touchdowns and ran five more kickoffs for scores during an 11-year career spent mostly with the Bears.

Hester’s most memorable moment came late in his rookie season in Super Bowl XLI in Miami. He became the only player ever to return a kickoff in a Super Bowl for a touchdown when he ran it back 92 yards against Indianapolis.

Hester scored six TDs on kickoff returns in each of his first two seasons, including a 108-yarder on a missed field goal as a rookie in 2006 when he helped Chicago advance to the Super Bowl. He was so good that teams would go out of their way to avoid him, leading to stray shots and punts and a short field for offense.

“He’s the first running back to just go into the Hall of Fame, and that’s because he’s the best there ever was,” former Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel said. “And that’s just one hell of an achievement, to be the best at a certain skill. And now the rules are changing the way they are, I don’t think anyone will ever match him.”

Hester’s electric comeback made him as popular as any player on a team that featured Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher alongside stars like Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Olin Kreutz. He earned the nickname “Anytime” because he could break off a touchdown return at, well, you know. And in a city where Michael Jordan of the Bulls and Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs wore No. 23, Hester did that number justice.

Not bad for someone who was hard to beat coming out of college. After all, as Gabriel said, he “had no real position.”

Hester played running back, wide receiver and defensive back at Miami. But he didn’t impose himself at those positions on a team that had a deep and talented roster. On special teams, however, it was a different story. Hester’s speed and explosiveness stood out.

“There was a little bit of reluctance about what this guy is, what you’re going to do with him and how high you take a guy who has some return ability,” said Sadowski, now Pittsburgh’s director of player scouting. “And some of the trouble he does in college, will it work in the pros?”

By the time the 2006 draft rolled around, the Bears were convinced. And after an electric NFL career, so did Canton.