Ruben Hyppolite Just Lit His Draft Critics On Fire With Amazing Speech

By far, the Chicago Bears' biggest shock of the 2025 draft was how they started the third day of action. After trading down early in the fourth round, they selected Ruben Hyppolite out of Rutgers. Not only did they avoid a position of need by taking a linebacker, but they took somebody who was rated far lower than some of the top options on the board. Smael Mondon Jr. of Georgia was still available. He had a 3rd round grade. Pooh Paul Jr. of Mississippi had a 4th round grade.

Hyppolite? Many had him either as a 7th round option or a priority undrafted free agent. So, for the Bears to take him in the 4th was a legitimate shock. GM Ryan Poles explained that his excellent speed (4.42) was why they liked him. Linebackers who can move like that are rare. It didn't stop experts from declaring Hyppolite one of the biggest reaches in the entire class. Bears media decided to ask him about that during his first media session at rookie minicamps.

Nobody could've been prepared for the answer he had ready.

"Misery loves company. It’s a lot of people who didn’t know what I had to go through to get this opportunity. Just look at my story: not going to the Combine, not going to the Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl. I had the Hula Bowl, which I give a lot of credit to Nick Logan for trusting in me to play in that game. But just that and then I called the NFS twice to see if I had a Combine invite. They said no, so just going through that. And then going through training the whole Combine season, just chopping wood, carrying water and going through it every day.

Then having my one opportunity at Pro Day, doing that, and then I went on like 15 visits. Took like 30 flights in two weeks, just back and forth across the country, you know, doing my meetings and stuff like that. All of that is just a culmination of me getting my opportunity now. I definitely don’t take it for granted. I’m very grateful for everybody upstairs for believing in me and my ability.

Now it’s time for me to put it together and just– I just love my story for anyone who’s out there who thinks that they need things like the Combine, things like a Senior Bowl invite– who think that they need those things to get drafted. You don’t. You just gotta put your best foot forward. You gotta run fast [laughs]. And you’ve just gotta be your best self every day, and I feel like I’m showing that. I’ve got a lot of messages, a lot of love, a lot of hate too, but that’s what comes with it, so I’m all for it."

Ruben Hyppolite understands one thing others don't.

Nobody will ever outwork him. He reached this point because he put in the extra time during the pre-draft process. He did great work at the Hula Bowl. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to earn invitations to the Senior Bowl and scouting combine. That meant he was faced with a difficult challenge. How does he get the attention of teams with almost no showcases? There were two opportunities. One was the Maryland pro day, and the other was the interview circuit. If he wanted to get drafted, he had to ace both.

That is precisely what he did. Ruben Hyppolite ran that 4.42 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. By all accounts, he also did great in his interviews, especially with the Bears. Together with some pretty good tape, it made the team's decision easier. Hyppolite may not have been one of the popular options for draft lovers, but he earned this opportunity and has no intention of giving it up to anybody.