Bears rookie diaries with Tory Taylor, Austin Booker | Week 1
As told to Gabby Hajduk

Bears fourth-round pick Tory Taylor—a punter from Iowa—and fifth-round pick Austin Booker—a defensive end from Kansas—share their training camp experiences exclusively on ChicagoBears.com. This series will feature both players giving first-person accounts once a week throughout training camp.

The start of training camp makes it feel like football has really begun now. OTA practices felt different than this. It was all still a bit of a whirlwind for me while I was trying to adjust. But everyone kept saying when we got back in mid-July, it would be on.

They were definitely right.

At the end of the day though, the football aspect is really no different for me and I try to keep it that way. There's obviously more eyes on you and it's a new level, but I want to simplify things as much as I can.

I'm trying to just have fun and make the most of it because it's the NFL. You never know when your last day is going to be. I try and live it day-by-day, like I'm on a one-day contract and I'll worry about tomorrow when I wake up tomorrow. I know it sounds cliché, but I really stay strong to that mentality.

Obviously, I was a little nervous coming in last week. You don't know what to expect with it being your first NFL training camp, but it's been enjoyable so far. I found my routine quickly — wake up at 6:30 and chill out, get to the building by 7:45, grab my oatmeal with berries and an iced latte, chat to the boys a bit, jump in the hot tub, stretch then head to practice.

I know I've said Australia has the best coffee and I stick by that, but it's still very good here. The ladies at the coffee bar do a great job and I'm lucky to have them.

When I get back to the hotel at night, I usually ring my family back home. It's morning in Australia at that point. Or I'll watch a bit of TV before I sleep. I just started Presumed Innocent on Apple TV, but if anyone has recommendations out there, please send them over.

Click here to send Tory Taylor your TV show recommendations.

I know it's early on in camp, but I feel like every day I have one of those 'I'm in the NFL' moments and it's usually watching practice.

I'll watch the offense and I just think, 'damn, that was a nice play.' At the end of the day, it's the NFL. There's stars out on the field every single day so I just enjoy watching it. To no surprise, guys like Keenan Allen and DJ Moore are some of the most impressive. We've got talent all across the defense too so it's pretty special to watch those guys go to work each day.

A lot of my time so far has obviously been with (long-snapper) Pat (Scales) and (kicker) Cairo (Santos). The thing I really enjoy about hanging out with those guys is that everyone's just themselves. Pat is one of the older guys on our team, but he can be just as goofy as me, so we all get along well.

Their personalities honestly caught me by surprise when I came in. I thought since it's the NFL, everyone would be robots, but it's the complete opposite. When it's time to play football, we're all locked in but when you're away from it, it's just a lot of fun. We all enjoy life for what it is.

The on-field relationship with Pat and Cairo is something that's all about trust and that just happens naturally over time. It comes down to repetition and understanding certain tendencies. And that learning process will go on forever, for as long as we're together.

Pat has been helping me a lot at practice with snap and holds for Cairo's kicks. He understands how Cairo likes things and that's so important because every kicker is different. I'm trying to perfect things for him because I'm holding for someone who is putting it through the upright, which is going to lead to points and points leads to winning games. I enjoy being a part of that process as well.

As far as punting, (special teams) coach (Richard) Hightower gave us a schedule at the beginning of camp so we always have an idea of when we're actually kicking. Right now we kick two or three times a week, which is what I'm used to from college. It's evenly spread out, which I like, and I know when it's time to go, it's time to go.

Our most recent practice on Tuesday was special because it was the first one with fans, so that was pretty cool. Pat, Cairo and I went around and signed autographs for a bit before we went inside. Everyone was a kid one day, so you know how much it means to have that moment. It was a fun experience and I'm sure that will continue in the next couple months.

I'm excited to get further into camp and keep working with these guys. My goal is to really just keep being myself. I always think, 'what helped me get here?' and that's not trying to be someone that I'm not. I'm just trying to naturally be my authentic self and do what I came here to do.

I didn't know what to expect heading into my first NFL training camp. When we pulled up to Halas Hall last Tuesday for rookie report day, I honestly felt a little bit of everything, mostly nerves. I was super excited to get my jersey and helmet back on. I felt like I haven't played football in forever.

I was nervous at first, but I also knew I had to go into this with confidence. You should have confidence in what you're good at and continue to grow that, but also work to improve on what you're not as good at.

So far in camp I've really leaned on keeping a consistent routine to stay on track. I get to the building at 7 a.m. and grab breakfast. It's the same thing every day — three pancakes, two pieces of bacon and then I fill up my water. At 7:30 I get stretched out by the training staff then I either lift or go to the training room. I start getting ready for practice at 8:30 and head out to the field by 9:00.

I'm 100 percent a routine guy. If your body feels good, you're going to perform on the field. Having my body right is one of the most important things. I learned that more so in college. In high school, I was just showing up and showing out, but it's different at the next level.

With that, I keep my lunch the same every day — two chicken and cheese quesadillas with sour cream. Dinner is random though, whatever I'm feeling. I knew coming in that I needed to gain weight, so I'm just doing all that I can to get that done.

By the time practice, meetings and walkthrough are done, I usually get in the cold tub or spend extra time in the training room and head back to the hotel by 8:30. Before I wind down, I get a little more football in. I'll do some studying and make sure I'm prepared for the next day. Then I'll shower just to reset and spend the next 30 or 40 minutes before bed either playing some NCAA, FaceTiming my girl or FaceTiming my family.

My parents and maybe my sisters will actually be up here this weekend for the first time to watch practice, so I'm super excited for them to come up. They're just very, very supportive and always love being involved.

As far as practice, things have been smooth so far. I'm definitely excited to get the pads on soon because that first game is just a week away now. There's definitely some nerves thinking about that because you haven't played football in awhile and you don't know how your moves are really working.

Really, I'm just excited to get back in and win some reps, so I am feeling confident right now.

I'm a believer in having to learn on your own sometimes. You can ask as many questions as you want, but at the same time you just have to go through things on your own. Still, I've definitely leaned on some of my college coaches and new teammates to help me acclimate to the pros.

My linebackers coach at Kansas, Mark Deleone, coaches inside linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens now, so he's been a really good connection to have.

DeMarcus Walker, Jacob Martin and obviously Montez Sweat have also been a big help. They're super high energy guys who know what they're doing. They can sense when I'm frustrated because they've been through it as rookies.

During practices they'll come up to me and just say, 'shake that one off, next play' or give me advice like 'put your hand here instead.' Other times, if I feel like I messed up, I'll go to one of them and just ask what they would do differently. Having those guys there is a huge help.

The best advice I've taken from the vets is just to keep it simple. Don't make things too complicated — get off the ball then read and react or have a plan to move.

It's been great working with (defensive line) coach Travis (Smith) too. He's the type of coach to just stay on you even when you mess up and that's exactly what I wanted — someone who is hands-on. I mean, if he's hands-off and not talking to me, then there's a problem.

I've stayed in touch with him since my pre-draft visit to Halas Hall, which was the last visit for me. I met with Trav for over an hour in his office just watching film because he loves the game like I do. I could tell that from the start, so that was a great experience and we've been close since.

It's been cool getting to know the entire D-line room since OTAs and now training camp. Our meeting room has definitely been my favorite part of camp so far — it's just so funny in there. It's like a barbershop in there every day. We just spit game and it's been super fun.

Everyone is hilarious in there but I'd have to say Zacch Pickens and Sweat are the funniest. I'm definitely low on that list because I'm pretty quiet. I'll throw something in every once in awhile, but I just like to listen and laugh.

Between that room and the practice field, I feel like I'm gelling with everyone. I do feel like I build that connection more on the field because that's where you earn most of your respect. So I'm just ready to keep working out there and can't wait to get to that first game.