When most of his college teammates were headed to business, communications or physical education classes, Bears linebacker Nick Roach was headed to the studio. A major in art theory and practice at Northwestern, he spent most of his time at Kresge Centennial Hall on the south end of campus, perched on a small stool, drawing, painting or sculpting.

Balancing football and fine arts isn't a common practice, but it came naturally to Roach, who grew up in Milwaukee gripping a pencil, not a football.

"As a kid, I always filled up notebooks with drawings," he said. "I watched all the little Saturday morning teach-you-how-to-draw shows and always asked for drawing books. I always had a sketch in mind."

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