LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Defenders converge on Jordan Howard, and the whistle blows. But Howard doesn't ease up. Doesn't head back to the huddle. The Chicago Bears running back keeps charging, momentum building, knees pumping high as he takes the play another 20 yards at least. 

If there ever were a time in Howard's life where he could afford to coast a little, it would be now. He's coming off a stunning rookie season in which he ran for the second most yards in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl. Anyone who ever doubted him—every team that passed on him as he fell to the fifth round of the 2016 draft—has already been proved wrong.

But is he taking his foot off the gas and enjoying the ride?

No. He's shifting to a higher gear.

"He's finishing plays," teammate Deon Bush says. "Running all the way down the field."

Bush is one of the many Bears defenders who have noticed the spirit that Howard is bringing to offseason practices at Halas Hall this year.

The rookie who workhorsed his way to 1,313 rushing yards and six touchdowns has become a second-year player who intends to set the bar even higher—for the whole team.

"I'm working harder, pushing myself in practice more," Howard says. "I'm trying to set the tone in practice, and hopefully people will follow my lead."

And it's not just at camp. Before joining his team, Howard was training at Bommarito Performance Systems in Davie, Florida. He typically arrived early for massage or therapy and then worked with trainers on isometrics and joint isolation, primarily for his hips, knees, ankles and trunk. There was eccentric training for his glutes and hamstrings.

"No question he has made strides in terms of his strength and getting faster in running back motions," says Pete Bommarito, who oversees Howard's training program.

More strength. More speed. More sweat.

Is this how you're supposed to act once you've made it?

Howard didn't know how to it do any differently. He couldn't have.

Like many kids from Alabama, Howard once had dreams of playing for the Crimson Tide. But after his junior season at Gardendale High School, he received just one offer—from his hometown school, Alabama-Birmingham. As a senior, running for 1,388 yards and 21 touchdowns didn't enhance his stock as much as a stress fracture in his pelvis and a torn meniscus diminished it.

Rivals rated him a 2-star recruit out of five.

His mother, aunt and uncle sent highlight tapes to more than 20 universities. But the only new offer he received was from Butler Community College, where a friend of one of his coaches worked. Not even a Division II or Division III school pursued him.

Howard and his family were deeply disappointed. But his mother, Flora Williams, saw the big picture.

She wrote an email to family members who were invested in her son's quest. It read, in part:

Howard Family,

Today I realized that we have been so caught up in the whys and hows of what Jordan doesn't have that we have lost sight of the precious jewel that God created and that He has him in His care. It became very clear to me today that God has plans for Jordan's life that we know nothing of. We may think it strange that Jordan being as equally talented as many of the highly recruited football players (even better than some), has the grades to get into most schools, has no disciplinary issues, physical in the game, has heart, a team player, understands and loves the game. Who wouldn't want a player like Jordan? It makes no human sense. Nothing about this is strange; God is working out His plan for Jordan's life.

Jordan has not had a very easy life as most children his age. He has experienced many hurts (within six months he lost a grandfather, grandmother and a father), disappointments and efforts of others to change who he is, but all of this has made him stronger. I am most proud of the man Jordan has become. You don't know how caring, respectful and compassionate he really is. We have to trust God with His plans for Jordan's future. Jordan belongs to God, and He is going to take great care of him.

My focus and prayer is for Jordan to stay positive and focused and believe that God is working it all out. The coaches and media only have minimal power, but God has the final say.

We have done all that we can to get Jordan the respect and credit we think he deserves. God sees him and knows what he needs. Let's just let go and let God take control and watch how He works it all out for Jordan.

With much love!

Flora

Howard settled in at UAB, and he left those recruiters in the dust of 2,468 rushing yards over his freshman and sophomore seasons. Being underestimated, he was coming to understand, can be a state of mind.

But none of that mattered Dec. 2, 2014, when UAB announced it would no longer play football. Now Howard was looking—hoping—for a job again. This time, about 20 schools inquired. Vanderbilt was the only SEC school that called, and he visited. Notre Dame was a possibility, but most of his class credits wouldn't transfer.

Indiana needed a running back and had a solid offensive line. He thought he could have success there, so Howard became a Hoosier.

Facing the challenge of proving himself again, Howard was as effective in the Big Ten as he was in Conference USA, averaging 134.8 yards per game.

The expectation was that he could be a second- or third-round draft pick, so he left Indiana after one season. But the second and third rounds of the draft came and went without a phone call. Then the fourth round. Finally, the Bears chose him with the 150th overall pick, after nine other running backs had been selected.

"He was disappointed, but we had been down that road before, seeing other running backs taken over him," Williams says.

As Williams had written in her email, Howard had dealt with worse disappointments. Since his father and best friend died from pulmonary fibrosis when he was 12, Howard often has found unexpected strength in his darkest hours.

On game days for 10 years now, he has worn a tattered, stained shirt with a picture of Reginal Howard. "In Memory of My Dad," it reads.

When Howard was seven years old, long before anyone could have known what his future would hold, his father told him he was going to be an NFL running back. "He's with me when I'm running," Howard says.

Howard grew to be 6'1", 230 pounds. And he learned to harness powerful forces that have nothing to do with muscle.

When he was a boy, Howard had a book about Walter Payton that he read frequently. "The cover was blue, and the page numbers were orange," he says.

When he was in elementary school, one of his aunts had given him the Gale Sayers autobiography I Am Third.

He didn't remind anyone of Payton or Sayers at the start of his Bears career. In training camp, he was lost in the sea of 90 men. Going into the regular season, Howard "wasn't No. 1 or No. 2 on the depth chart," according to head coach John Fox.

He handled it like he handles everything: calmly and serenely. But when he got his first start of the season, Howard ran franticly and violently. In the season's fourth week against the Lions, he kept cutting paths through the Honolulu blue and silver until he had 111 rushing yards on 23 carries. The next week against the Colts, he ran for 118 yards on 16 attempts.

By season's end, he had broken Matt Forte's rookie team record for rushing yards. Howard's 5.2 yards-per-carry average was the highest by a Bears' leading rusher since Payton averaged 5.5 per carry 39 years earlier. He also became the only Bears rookie running back to make a Pro Bowl besides Sayers.

Howard is part of a running back lineage like no other—one that includes Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, George McAfee, Rick Casares, Neal Anderson, Sayers, Payton and Forte.

"It's a lot to live up to, but you embrace the challenge," he says. "I'm hoping to follow in those footsteps and keep the tradition going. ...

"Everybody always talks about Walter. Not just the kind of player he was but the kind of person he was."

Howard also admires the way Payton fought to stay inbounds. "I never want to go out of bounds," he says. "I always try to go into the defender to get a few more yards."

Howard appreciates other running backs, too. He studies some of his favorites and tries to learn from them. If being Jordan Howard isn't enough, maybe he can become better by mixing in some traits or moves from others.

He aspires to be as passionate and consistent as LaDainian Tomlinson. "He was one of the best every year that he played, and he played almost every game," Howard says.

Or as determined as Warrick Dunn. "He's a little guy but was always fighting, and he could make a big play at any time," Howard says.

If only he could be as complete as Ricky Williams. "He could be physical and also could run away from people," Howard says. "As a runner he could do it all."

He would like to run more violently, like Adrian Peterson. "I like how he puts fear into some defenders," Howard says.

In his dreams, he can move like Shady McCoy. "How shifty he is, I envy that," he says.

The back he relates most to is Marshawn Lynch. "I try to take from his physicalness, how hard he runs and how tough it is to bring him down," Howard says. "He has a more rugged style, like mine."

Howard did a fine impression of Lynch last year as 57 percent of his yards came after contact, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bommarito specializes in running backs and has trained many of the best. He says Howard's power stands out. "His lower-body power is crazy," he says. "He bends really well, and out of those deep bending positions he is extremely powerful. That is rare."

Every year, NFL Network asks players to select the top 100 guys in the league.

This spring, Howard's peers didn't think he belonged in the top 100. Maybe they just forgot about him. Nine running backs were chosen ahead of him, including LeGarrette Blount, who hasn't rushed for 1,200 yards in any of his seven NFL seasons, much less 1,313.

"A lot of guys don't know who I am," Jordan says. "It doesn't surprise me. It doesn't matter to me."

Howard is the most anonymous top-tier player in the NFL.

When he was sitting in the locker room full of All-Stars last January preparing for the Pro Bowl, Howard looked around. All the other Pro Bowlers seemed to know each other. He knew who they were, but they didn't know him.

This was the first All-Star Game he ever played in. He wasn't invited to play in any in high school.

"A lot of the other guys knew each other because they were top-ranked players in high school and they played in all-star games together, or they went to big colleges and met players from other big programs," Howard says. "It was a foreign experience for me."

One of the few players he had met was Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. They had trained together prior to the draft at Bommarito Performance Systems. Howard had been in Elliott's shadow in the Big Ten. He had stayed in his shadow for the draft.

Elliott continued to block the light from Howard last season. It was Elliott who led the league in rushing and who was voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. And it was Elliott who started in the Pro Bowl.

"I feel people will be comparing us for the rest of our careers," Howard says.

Elliott is one of the most recognizable stars in the NFL. Bush says he's never seen Howard recognized in public.

Not that he's in public much. Howard doesn't often feel the vibrations from Chicago's nightlife. His idea of stepping out is bowling and Benihana.

Even those who know who Howard is may not really know what he's about.

Howard likes listening to music (Drake and YFN Lucci are favorites; if he's sleepy he'll go for R. Kelly or Luther Vandross). He's also a Netflix binger (he recommends Prison Break and Shameless).

Howard, Bush and several other Bears live in the same apartment complex in a northern Chicago suburb. They sometimes take in sporting events on TV together.

Those teammates know him. Bush says Howard keeps a low profile but likes to kid around. If he hears Bush talking about how he is from Miami, Howard corrects him. "You are from Broward, not Miami," he will say with a sly grin.

Mother knows him best. Williams says her son is actually a "closet extrovert" who likes to sing and dance. "We don't have singing voices in our family," she says. "We don't have rhythm in our family. But that doesn't stop him."

At the end of a practice, Coach Fox often asks one of his core players to break the huddle. It is a privilege that is earned, not given.

Sometimes, a player will step forward and get tongue-tied. Other times, teammates will razz the chosen speaker.

"You want me to talk for you?"

Or, "Speeeeeeeech!"

One day not long ago, Fox chose Howard for the first time. Howard, who makes more noise with his shoulderpads than his mouth, stepped forward and gave a succinct talk about working hard.

"He handled it great," Fox says. "Guys grow. He's got more status from his peers now.

"He's earned it, and it's not self-proclaimed."

Howard is in virgin territory. When he ran well in high school, it wasn't good enough. When he did well at UAB, he had to look for a new team. When he succeeded at Indiana, he started over in the NFL at the back of the line.

"Every time he achieves something, there are changes, and people want to see him do it next time," his mom says. "This will be probably his first time saying, 'OK, he's the real deal.'"

The perception of Howard has changed, but he is not likely to change with it.

"Look, you always are either dealing with adversity or prosperity," Fox says. "Sometimes prosperity is harder for people to deal with. So we talk about humility. And that is as humble a kid as I've ever been around. It shows in his personality, his work ethic and his demeanor, all those things. Sometimes things go well and they have all the answers to everything. He isn't that guy, and I don't expect that to change."

Whether it was from a gene or a learned trait, humility is ingrained in Howard. He speaks of being grateful for every play because he never knows which one will be his last.

Howard likes to think of himself as one step ahead of the Turk, hovering just above the waiver wire.

"I'm always going to have a chip on my shoulder," he says. "I'm always thinking I have to prove somebody wrong. I'm going to keep showing what I can do. I know things can change at any moment. A guy can take my spot just like it happened to me."

Bommarito preaches that his clients handle the rep in front of them and not concern themselves with big-picture goals.

"That is Jordan Howard to a tee," he says. "He forgets all the distractions—what might have happened in the past or his goals down the line. If he takes care of the building blocks, he knows those goals will come naturally."

Sure, Howard thinks about leading the league in rushing, going back to the Pro Bowl and helping the Bears win the NFC North.

But what he's really focused on is what it would take to go someplace he hasn't been—and what it has taken to get where hardly anybody thought he could be.

Dan Pompei covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danpompei.