Bears an ideal fit for Nick Hill

Nick Hill was on the phone with Buffalo quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt when the Bills were on the clock at No. 251, the second-to-last pick of the draft.

If Buffalo went with offense, Hill was their man. But when the Bills called the name of Pittsburgh cornerback Kennard Cox, Hill said no thanks to their overtures.

His No. 1 goal was to join the Bears, and the Southern Illinois passer agreed to terms on a free-agent deal. The Bears were the ideal fit for the left-hander because they are the only team with only two quarterbacks on their roster, Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.

"It was really a no-brainer," Hill said. "Your goal is always to get drafted, but I just want to get a shot. I feel really good about the Bears. They were No. 1 on my list going into this." Hill also turned down overtures from Indianapolis, Houston and Washington.

The Bears started calling him in the sixth round and peppered him and his agent with calls until the draft ended.

Hill, who attended Western Kentucky on a basketball scholarship, transferred to SIU in 2004 and threw 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions last season in leading the Salukis to the I-AA semifinals, where they fell to Delaware. He also helped engineer an upset of Northern Illinois last season.

The Bears brought Hill in for a pre-draft visit, along with Western Kentucky wide receiver Curtis Hamilton, who also agreed to a free-agent deal.