Like Hyppolite, fifth-round selection Zah Frazier, a cornerback from Texas-San Antonio, also made a positive impression during a visit to Halas Hall.
“What stood out to me was his thirst for knowledge,” Allen said. “He understands he doesn’t have the whole picture quite yet, so just the willingness to want to work to get better and understand what we’re doing from a defensive standpoint.”
Frazier appeared in 29 games the past three seasons at UTSA after starting his college career at Southern Illinois (2019) and spending two years at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Last season he was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference after setting a single-season school record with six interceptions.
“He’s got really good ball skills,” Allen said. “He’s got speed, he’s got size, he’s got length. Those are all three things that we value really at any position on our defense but in particular at the corner position.”
The 30 visits that Hyppolite and Frazier made to Halas Hall were instrumental in them becoming Bears.
“You just get to sit back and observe how they interact with everybody in the building, whether it be the scouting assistants or the training room or coaching staff, the front office personnel,” Allen said. “You get a chance to see how they interact with all those people and you kind of get a feel for, ‘Is this a guy who really loves football and is wanting to come in and go to work and do the things that we’re going to ask him to do?’ That’s why those visits are important.”