Chicago Bears

Reunited: New draftee Hroniss Grasu 'can't wait' to play with Kyle Long again

Published May. 5, 2015 11:54 a.m. ET

foxsports

Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace and his scouting staff liked what they saw on tape, and what they heard from coaches regarding former Oregon center Hroniss Grasu, whom the team drafted in the third round with the 71st overall pick.

Pace had one more person to ask before he made his final pre-draft decision on Grasu, according to an article on ChicagoBears.com. That was Grasu's former teammate at Oregon, and Chicago's current right guard Kyle Long.

"We kind of had our evaluations in," Pace told the site on Friday. "And Kyle Long just confirmed all those things when we talked to him."

Long and Grasu did not play together for too long, as Long did not become a starter until his senior season. But, the offensive linemen formed an incredible bond.

"Can't wait to play with him again," Grasu said on a conference call when asked his feelings on reuniting with Long. Grasu also talked about his excitement, and how prepared he feels to play at the next level.

"Our game at Oregon, our tempo, I think will really help out in Chicago because I was always asked to make a lot of decisions under a short amount of time, a matter of six or seven seconds," Grasu said on the call. "Being able to do that with the other four offensive linemen just makes it so much easier. I can't even put into words how excited I am to continue my journey with the Bears."

(h/t Chicago Bears)