LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Shemar Turner’s an excitable sort. That has been clear since the Bears selected him at No. 62 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Texas A&M defensive lineman talked about playing with “violence” and said some unflattering things about offensive linemen.

That’s not all for show, though. Go watch the tape, or the highlights at least. Turner is aggressive in every snap, a disruptor who walks the line and occasionally steps right over it.

Not that the Bears find anything wrong with that. In fact, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen likes Turner’s mix of skill set and disposition.

“He’s athletic. I think that was the first thing that we saw,” Allen said Saturday, following the second day of Bears rookie minicamp. “You see explosion and power with this player. I think he’s got the right temperament for what we’re looking for. I think we’ll have to put the saddle on him and break him a little bit but we’d rather have to pull the reins back rather than have to (push) him to get him to go. We’re excited about working with him.”

Turner is excited about being here in Chicago. That was clear speaking with him on Friday, when he vividly described his first official Bears practice. The team was working on fields adjacent to the team’s primary facility, which require golf cart rides to reach.

Turner passed on the ride.

“it was surreal,” Turner said in a press conference. “…I walked and just tried to soak it in. Dream come true, finally getting to do what I’ve been wanting to do for my whole life.

“I get to do this every day now until I get ready to stop. Talked to my brother, talked to God. Yeah, had a good time.”

Then he went on the field and showed his trademark passion for the game, while trying to focus on the technique required to succeed at the NFL level.

“It’s a war zone in there, walkthrough or not,” Turner said. “So, shoot, you’ve gotta snap back and get back to football.”

Exactly where on the football field Turner will play was somewhat uncertain. He has the versatility and skill set to play anywhere on the defensive line. He worked off the edge at Texas A&M until 2024, when he switched to the interior.

He was productive there, while working with Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart on the outside, to the tune of 36 tackles, including six for a loss and two sacks.

The Bears would like Turner to stay there, at least to start, and hold a weight just under 300 pounds.

“The first thing we’ve got to do is we got to play him in at defensive tackle and let him learn there, let him develop there, both as a 3 technique and a nose,” Allen said. “Then we’ll worry about trying to see that flexibility. From a skill set standpoint, yeah, he’s got some flexibility. We’ll just have to see what he can learn, how quickly he can learn and adapt to what we’re doing.”

The enthusiasm will help, but Allen has also seen a different side during the initial portions of this rookie minicamp.

“He’s got a good outgoing personality,” Allen said. “I think he enjoys being in the building. I think he really loves football and that’s something that we look for in guys that we want to bring in to the building because you have to love football to do all the things that’s going to be necessary to have success in our league. I think he’s got a good personality and then when he’s on the field, he’s about business. So that’s good to see.”