BLOOMINGTON Bennie Fowler III Jersey , Ind. (AP) — George Taliaferro, the star Indiana running back who in 1949 became the first black player drafted in the NFL when George Halas and the Chicago Bears took him in the 13th round, has died. He was 91.The university spoke with Taliaferro’s family about his death in Mason, Ohio, senior associate athletic director Jeremy Gray said Tuesday. Other details were not disclosed.Taliaferro was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. In the NFL, he played seven positions and earned Pro Bowl honors in 1951-53.He was the leading rusher on Indiana’s 1945 Big Ten championship team that went 9-0-1, the only undefeated team in school history. During his four years in Bloomington he led the Hoosiers in rushing twice and passing once.It wasn’t an easy transition — the segregation in Bloomington was jarring — and Taliaferro told the Indianapolis Star he once called his father in Gary, Indiana, and suggested he might come home and work together in one of the U.S. Steel plants. His dad wouldn’t hear of it.“I lay awake all night trying to figure … out … why … he wouldn’t help me,” Taliaferro told the Star. “And it came to me: That for the first 18 years of my life, every day I left my father and mother’s house to go to school, they told me two things: ‘We love you; you must be educated.’ It came to me that the other reason for my being at Indiana University … on the campus at Bloomington … Indiana — was to be educated.”Indiana said university President Herman Wells once intervened with a local restaurant to make sure he and Taliaferro would be able to eat there. When the manager balked, Wells said he would make the restaurant off limits to the student body and the manager relented.The Bears selected Taliaferro with the 129th overall pick — a potential dream come true for the Gary native who grew up following the Bears. The problem was that Taliaferro had signed a week before the draft with the Los Angeles Dons of the rival All America Football Conference, which had welcomed black players since its debut in 1946.Taliaferro told the Dayton Daily News last year he thought about returning his $4,000 signing bonus to the Dons in hopes it would clear the way for an NFL career https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Taylor-Gabriel-Jersey , but then spoke with his mother.“She said, ‘What did you promise your father?'” Taliaferro told the Dayton Daily News. “I knew right away. I had to be a man of my word, so I never even bothered getting back to George Halas and the Bears.”Taliaferro rushed for 472 yards and five touchdowns and passed for another 790 yards and four scores in his rookie season with the Dons in 1949. The AAFC merged with the NFL the following season and Taliaferro ended up with the New York Yanks for the 1950 season. Taliaferro rushed for 411 yards and four touchdowns and caught another 21 passes for 299 yards and five scores for the Yanks, leading the team in touchdowns and helping them to a 7-5 record.Taliaferro spent five more years in the NFL. He totaled 2,266 rushing yards, 1,300 receiving yards, 1,633 passing yards and accounted for 37 touchdowns while playing for franchises in New York, Dallas, Baltimore and Philadelphia. He lined up at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, punter, kick returner Trey Burton Color Rush Jersey , punt returner and defensive back.Taliaferro later earned a master’s degree at Howard University, taught at Maryland and served as dean of students at Morgan State. At Indiana, he also spent two decades serving his alma mater in a number of capacities, including as a special assistant to the president, IUPUI chancellor and dean of School of Social Work. He was also active in helping the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.Flags on the Bloomington campus were lowered to half-staff through this weekend’s homecoming game against Iowa. Taliaferro’s No. 44 will replace the traditional logo on Indiana players’ helmets for the game and there will be a moment of silence before kickoff.“He was a mentor to me, and, like all great mentors, was often one who was appropriately challenging me,” athletic director Fred Glass said. “Simply put, he was a great man and will be greatly missed.”Indiana said Taliaferro is survived by his wife of 67 years, Viola, and two daughters.Funeral arrangements were pending. LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky wore a smile Sunday like he just received a big contract extension.In a way, it was an investment by the Bears in their quarterback. The Bears signed one of Trubisky’s protectors, left guard Cody Whitehair Cody Parkey Jersey , to a five-year contract extension through 2024.“He always puts the team first,” Trubisky said. “In here early; last guy to leave. Just a selfless player and does his job on the field. He definitely deserves everything he has gotten.“I feel like I just got paid a little bit too. (The team’s) got to take care of my guys up front, and they certainly are.”The Bears did not release terms of the agreement beyond its length.“It’s definitely important, but it’s important it got done now so we can just focus on this week and beating Green Bay,” Whitehair said.The Bears and Packers open the 100th NFL season Thursday night at Soldier Field.Whitehair’s signing means the Bears have their five starting offensive linemen under contract through at least 2020.“That stability of that line, you ask a quarterback what it means to have those guys in front of you who are consistent,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “I mean, you probably saw … the t-shirt Mitch was wearing the other day before the game? He had his five offensive linemen on his t-shirt.“That’s pretty cool. There aren’t moving parts there. Those are all the same guy. So, we like that.”Whitehair anticipated this would happen after seeing the way the Bears went about signing the other offensive linemen to extensions in recent years.“I had full belief that they wanted me here and to keep me here,” Whitehair said. “I was just focused on playing and getting better.“Obviously, with the position switch I had some dust to knock off so that’s what I was focused on.”Whitehair moved to left guard this season from center after making the Pro Bowl as an alternate last year. Second-year guard James Daniels became the center.It was only a small move for Whitehair because he has played some at guard in past seasons.The Bears’ offensive line last year allowed 33 sacks, tied for eighth fewest in the league, and were 11th in rushing (1,938 yards).During preseason, the line and the rest of the starting offense had virtually no playing time. Whitehair said practice was enough considering they were facing the league’s No. 1 scoring defense from last year on a daily basis.“I think just going against our defense every day https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Khalil-Mack-Jersey , they play at a high level and do a lot,” Nagy said. “Going against them every day and as physical as they are just prepares us really well.”NOTESKicker Eddy Pineiro won the kicking battle over Elliott Fry and no other kicker has been brought in by the Bears for now. He’ll kick against the Packers. “I mean, it’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders,” Pineiro said. “I’m excited to be the guy. This organization believes in me and has given me a shot to be where I’m at.” On Sunday prior to practice at Halas Hall, Pineiro went to Soldier Field with long snapper Patrick Scales and holder/punter Patrick O’Donnell to practice. … The Bears brought back 10 players who had been cut Saturday to form a practice squad. Offensive lineman Alex Bars, quarterback Tyler Bray, defensive back Stephen Denmark, linebacker Jonathan Harris, tight end Jesper Horsted, wide receiver Thomas Ives, defensive back Michael Joseph, offensive lineman Sam Mustipher, running back Ryan Nall and linebacker James Vaughters formed the practice squad.__