It’s been a surreal past two weeks for rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn making his first two starts for his hometown team, the Chicago Bears. 

The Lake Zurich, Ill., native signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent from the University of Wisconsin. Sanborn explains why he chose Chicago over the other teams.

“At the end of the day, I was happy to be a Bear. I grew up here and everything like that so I was very excited to get going. And then, just being a part of the new culture that is being built here. It’s all about hard work, perseverance and that’s what football is all about,” Sanborn said on this week’s episode of Bear Essentials. 

Since former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith was traded to Baltimore, it provided an opportunity for Sanborn to show his skillset. In the last two games, Sanborn leads the team with 19 tackles and 2 sacks. 

Sanborn describes how the more reps and experience helps him slow down the game making plays on the field. 

“They say experience is the best teacher, especially in the game like football. Those reps are invaluable not only games but also in practice throughout summer, throughout training camp and everything like that. Just continuing to get those and continuing to try to improve. The game does come to you more, the game does slow down but I’m still so young. There’s still so much for me to learn and I know that. That’s where my head’s at,” Sanborn said. 

Watch the full interview with Jack Sanborn above. Bear Essentials runs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network