'GET ALL OF WALES ON BOARD WITH THE CHICAGO BEARS'
NFL quarterback Tyson Bagent's name is not one that will be familiar to many in Wales, but it is a country which means a great deal to the Chicago Bears signal caller.
The 23-year-old from West Virginia caught the attention in Wales earlier this year when pictures of his tattoos started circling on social media websites.
Bagent has two Welsh language tattoos on his chest, both of which are in honour of his grandfather, Dave Humphreys, who was born in Wales.
"I've always been a big family guy," Bagent told BBC Sport Wales.
"I knew that my family had some Welsh background and that he [his grandfather] did more specifically.
"My dad said I could get a tattoo as long as my grandad said it was OK, because he knew that he would not say it was OK.
"My grandad said, ‘You know, in six months, if you feel the same way, then I would say you could go ahead and do it'.
"So, ‘teulu’ [family] was my first tattoo ever when I was 17."
A few years after that, Bagent's grandfather died of cancer. Then an aspiring NFL quarterback, Bagent was inspired to have a second Welsh language tattoo.
"My grandad was a pilot of his own little commercial plane, and he also loved to fish, so I got a portrait of him on a boat with the plane that he used to fly above the boat.
"I would record a lot of our last conversations whenever he was in hospice, and I would go to see him in the days before he passed away.
"One of the things he said, and he said that it sounded corny, was, 'All my life I felt that I was made to fly', so I got that phrase in Welsh underneath the boat.
"It symbolises my grandad and how much he meant to me and still means to me."
The online attention which Bagent received from people in Wales when he first spoke about his tattoos did not go unnoticed by the Bears quarterback.
While Bagent said he is not often asked about the meaning of his tattoos, he enjoyed the new-found attention from the country of his grandfather's birth, and has called on Welsh NFL fans to support Chicago.
"I get a lot of questions about tattoos, but none so specific as to talk about why I have Welsh language on my chest, it doesn't usually get that deep," Bagent added.
"That was until I started getting blown up on social media from a lot of people from Wales asking about why I have the tattoos.
"I love it, let's get all of Wales on board with the Chicago Bears."
Division II quarterback defies odds as NFL starter
Bagent's journey to becoming an NFL quarterback was not simple.
After high school, none of the country's biggest colleges would give him a chance, so instead Bagent joined Division II college Shepherd, near his hometown of Martinsburg.
There, Bagent threw 1,400 completed passes for 17,034 yards and 159 touchdowns - all records for a Division II quarterback.
After going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Bears and listed as their third-choice quarterback to start the season.
Before the Bears' Week Four game against the Denver Broncos, Bagent was promoted to the back-up role behind starter Justin Fields.
A fortnight later, an injury to Fields midway through Chicago's game with the Minnesota Vikings meant Bagent was called upon to make his NFL debut.
"College ends and you wonder if you'll ever play in a game again - there's always that question," said Bagent.
"Last season was just an amazing ride that only seemed to go up for me, so it's caused me to fall in love with football even more.
"It's caused me to fall in love with the city of Chicago and the Bears, and it's something that my family has been very proud of.
"That always takes the cake for me. As long as I can have my people be proud of what I'm doing, no matter what that is, then I'm usually a pretty happy guy."
Since the end of the 2023 season, the Bears have parted company with their first-choice quarterback in Fields, but they hold the number one pick in the 2024 NFL draft, which begins on Thursday.
It is expected that the Bears will draft a new quarterback with the pick, with USC's Caleb Williams the name most commonly linked with the team.
If the Bears do use their first pick on a quarterback, Bagent will probably be the Bears' back-up signal caller once again come the start of the new season.
Bagent says he is ready to do whatever it takes to bring success back to a team that have not won a Super Bowl since 1986, and not reached the sport's biggest game since 2007.
"Whoever's here after the draft, I'm excited to get to know them and excited to work with them and compete with them," said Bagent.
"Whatever we can add to make the Bears a better team, I'm all for it. I know I'm going to be ready and I know I'll do my best to get whoever else is around me ready as well.
"I'm just going to continue to work as hard as I can, try to be the best version of myself for the team day in and day out.
"It's an exciting year for Chicago for sure; I'm thinking we're going to win the Super Bowl.
"I'm going to continue saying that until we do or we don't, but I'm definitely excited for this year."
2024-04-24T12:03:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd