LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Chris Williams hardly fits the stereotype for an NFL offensive linemen.

But his new team finds the Vanderbilt tackle a perfect fit.

“We not only addressed a need, but we’re rewarding character,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. “Chris exemplifies what we want as an organization, not only what we want in a football player.”

An excellent student who graduated last December, Williams scored a 32 on the Wonderlic test, used to gauge aptitude for learning and problem solving ability, was more of a finesse blocker for a passing team than a run blocker and admits to being a “late bloomer.”

The Bears expect to put him into the lineup immediately, most likely at left tackle.

“I’m looking forward to actually getting in a three-point stance and getting after guys and playing this power offense that we run, and just kind of beating guys into the ground,” Williams said Monday when he was introduced to the media at Halas Hall. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Williams has been praised by his college coaches for applying his intelligence in battles at the line of scrimmage.

“It’s a huge advantage,” Williams said. “Mental mistakes are a big problem with any coach. You don’t want guys jumping offside. You don’t want guys missing assignments. That’s just a big, big problem for anyone.

“If you can eliminate those problems and not have to think about what you’re doing and just play, it makes everybody a better player when you just know your assignments.”

Williams stressed he can block in the run game as well even though he spent much of his college career blocking so players like quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Earl Bennett, a third-round Bears draft pick Sunday, could be effective.

“We played from behind a lot, we had Earl who was a great weapon, we had Cutler who was a great weapon, so we threw the ball around a lot and if you watch the tape, watch when I do have to get in the stance, there was a lot of good run blocking there.”

Some in the media have questioned Williams’ toughness and commitment, using an incident at the Senior Bowl when he refused to punch Red Bryant after he had been punched a few times.

“As far as beating a grown man in full pads, I was like, ‘I’m not going to break my hand hitting him in the helmet. He can hit me as many times as he wants.’

“I was laughing the whole time like, ‘Please keep hitting me and break your hand and get drafted in the 12th round.'”

The Bears have seen evidence of Williams’ commitment, and so has his new bride Marissa. The two were married April 5, but did not go on a honeymoon while Williams visited 10 NFL cities before the draft.

“She knew I was getting a job and, trust me, she’s going to get the honeymoon she wants,” Williams said.

“The honeymoon I could afford then and the one I can afford now are a little bit different.”

Williams came on later in his career, and didn’t start in high school until his senior year.

“It was weird because I was like a chubby kid, then I got taller and when I got taller I really kind of came into my own as a tackle,” he said.

Williams said he put on 40 pounds in college by eating more than his share of steak, dinner rolls and chocolate milk. Eventually, the tackle grew into a 6-6, 315-pounder.

“I don’t even know if I’ve peaked yet,” he said.

“I grew probably between my sophomore and junior year, I grew about 3-4 inches … my junior year. I was just kind of goofy, trying to adjust to all this height I’ve got. Then my senior year I started coming into my own a little bit,” Williams added.

Now he finds himself wearing a uniform similar to the one he wore in high school for the Baton Rouge Catholic High Bears, a program that produced Warrick Dunn, Travis Minor and Major Applewhite.

“Same logo, same song, same C,” he said. “I can’t wait to put it back on.”