Underdog mindset has Bears defensive lineman Bilal Nichols ‘locked in’

Bilal Nichols remembers how every FBS Division I college football program passed on him. He has been an underdog his entire life. He knows how to use those slights as motivation.

“That burned me and that added a lot of fire,” Nichols said. “It just made me want to out-work everybody.”

According to 247Sports.com, Nichols was an unranked recruit coming out of Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark, Delaware, in 2014. Raised by his grandparents Adova and Dolores Bolton, electing to stay close to home and play football at the University of Delaware was an easy choice for Nichols.

But he didn’t have any FBS offers. Even now, all these years later, he uses that as motivation.

“That’s kind of the mindset I live by,” said Nichols, a fifth-round Bears draft pick in 2018. “This offseason, I just grinded. I didn’t have the year I wanted to have last year. I dealt with injuries. So I just grinded, grinded, grinded. I kept my head down and I went, no matter the circumstances -- whether there was a pandemic or whatever.”

Nichols missed three games in 2019 with a broken hand and was still limited by the injury after he returned. When Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman opted out of the 2020 season prior to training camp, the Bears thrust Nichols into the nose tackle position.

Nichols came into 2020 with some experience playing nose tackle from his first two seasons with the Bears, but nothing like this. Nichols studied the position by watching film of Goldman, who was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2019.

“He’s very detailed in everything that he does,” Nichols said of Goldman. “Footwork is impeccable. Everything is darn near perfect. That’s just something that I try to work on.”

Bears defensive line coach Jay Rodgers said that behind-the-scenes work is why Nichols is finding success. Nichols studies everything about his opponents. When it comes time for the game, any situation that might arise on the field has already played out in Nichols’ mind because of all his prep work.

Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano called Nichols “so coachable.” Outside linebacker Khalil Mack backs it up, too. Mack has been impressed by Nichols’ willingness to listen to criticism.

“[He takes] those small little critiques that you tell him and uses it to his advantage,” Mack said. “He’s one of those guys that listens and he works at it. That’s all you can really ask for from a young guy like that.”

Nichols has found his groove of late, recording a sack in each of the past three games. He has five sacks this season, along with seven total tackles for loss and 12 QB hits. He has stayed healthy, too, starting all 14 games.

“Some of those plays don’t just happen right away,” Rodgers said. “The continued pursuit to be a better player on an everyday basis is starting to pay dividends for him. He continues to improve as the games go by.”

The 2021 season will be the final year of Nichols’ rookie contract. He seems like the type of home-grown Bears draft pick who might earn an extension in August, as the Bears have done with numerous core players prior to their final contract year.

Nichols believes he’s playing the best football of his career right now. The stat book and the film certainly agree.

“I’ve been locked in all season, but I’ve really hit a groove right now,” Nichols said. “I feel like everything is coming together.”