Blue Hens unite in Chicago as Nichols is drafted by Nagy-coached Bears

The National Football League draft paired a Blue Hen with a Blue Hen on Saturday.

Bilal Nichols, the University of Delaware defensive lineman out of Hodgson Vo-Tech, was chosen in the fifth round with the 145th overall selection by the Chicago Bears.

The Bears’ first-year coach is Matt Nagy, the 1996-2000 Delaware quarterback who spent the previous 10 seasons on Andy Reid’s staffs with the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

It was Nagy who phoned Nichols at his Newark home with the news that the Bears would draft him.

“I’ve been a fan of his. I always kept up with him when he was in Kansas City,” Nichols told chicagobears.com. “I was super, super excited for him when he got the head coaching job at Chicago. You know, us Blue Hens, we’ve got to stick together so I was super excited for him that he got that opportunity.

“For him to give me that call, man, it was unreal.”

Brian Ginn, a Blue Hens assistant coach through 2016 who was a UD quarterback from 1995-99, is on Nagy’s staff as an offensive aide.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Nichols was a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association choice at Delaware, including making the first team in 2017, and earned a 2018 NFL Combine invitation after his East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl performances.

He excelled at nose guard last season when Delaware switched to a 3-4 front under first-year coach Danny Rocco. As a senior, Nichols had 6½ tackles for lost yardage, including 5½ sacks; intercepted a pass; batted down four passes; and blocked a kick. Nichols had 104 tackles, including 17½ for lost yardage, in 44 career games.

Nichols was raised by his grandparents, Aldova and Dolores Bolton, beginning at age 5 because his young, single mother – the Boltons’ daughter Nicole – was having difficulty. They’d moved from Chester, Pennsylvania, before Nichols’ eighth-grade year to Newark, where they watched the draft Saturday.

“The support and guidance from my family, coaches, teammates and friends are what got me to this day, and I can’t put into words what they mean to me,” Nichols told Bluehens.com.

Nichols is the 31st UD player chosen in the NFL draft and the first Blue Hen from a Delaware high school since running back Danny Reeder, a Christiana grad, in 1985.

A.I. du Pont High grad Quadree Henderson, the All-American kick returner who also played wide receiver at Pitt, didn't see his name appear on the ESPN telecast during a draft gathering at his alma mater in Greenville.

But as the Pittsburgh Steelers were making their final choice, Henderson's phone rang with the Steelers offering him a free-agent contract to return to Heinz Field, where he starred as a collegian, and play for them. A roar went up in the crowd, and Henderson, thrilled with the opportunity to go "back to the 'burgh," he said, accepted before the draft was even over. 

"The special teams coordinator said, 'We want you,'" Henderson said.

Later he added, 'I've been dreaming of this opportunity since I was 5 years old, and it's here now."

Wesley All-American offensive lineman Matt Gono also signed a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

Nichols was the second Delaware product chosen in the draft as the Minnesota Vikings took Salesianum School graduate Brian O’Neill, the offensive tackle out of Pitt, with the 62nd overall pick in Friday’s second round.

The 6-foot-7, 300-pound O’Neill was also state player of the year in basketball as a Sallies junior and was recruited to Pitt as a tight end before moving to the offensive line. Pitt still utilized those athletic skills as O’Neill carried the football three times for 39 yards, including 24- and 5-yard touchdowns, in his career.

Jamaal Stephenson, Minnesota’s director of college scouting, called O’Neill “probably the best athlete of all the offensive linemen in this draft,” according to startribune.com.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.