'He was behind me today': Nahshon Wright honors John Beam with INT - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — Playing with a heavy heart Sunday following the death of his former college coach John Beam, Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright recorded his fourth interception of the season in Chicago's 19-17 win at Minnesota, saying afterward that Beam «was behind me today.»

Beam, the celebrated Laney College football coach who was featured in the Netflix series «Last Chance U,» died after he was shot on the Oakland, California, campus where he worked on Nov. 13. A suspect, who police say knew and targeted Beam, has been arrested.

Wright spent the 2018 season playing junior college football under Beam before transferring to Oregon State. The cornerback found out about Beam's death from a former coach on Friday, two days after they had last talked.

«He was watching over me,» Wright said. «It's crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me that every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. So I just know he was behind me today.»

Wright pulled down the interception, his second against his former team, as he and Vikings receiver Jordan Addison crossed into the end zone, preventing Minnesota from scoring a touchdown before halftime to pull within one. The 6-foot-5 Wright has a 6-inch height advantage on Addison and used his frame to go up and over the receiver, high-point the ball and notch Chicago's 22nd takeaway.

«That was a huge one for us, right before halftime,» Bears coach Ben Johnson said. «They're knocking on the door, in scoring range. He was the game captain here this week, he was the guest captain. I know it means something to him going against his former team and how it went down. Really good coverage. He's so long that he's able to knock balls away or haul them in. We definitely needed that