Last year, record-setting return man Devin Hester was in the process of shifting from cornerback to receiver.  This year, the Bears want him to become the No. 1 option at the position.

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner challenged Hester to get better after his 2007 debut as a pass-catcher.

“I told him if you’re going to make that commitment to try to be the No. 1 receiver, then you’ve got to make that commitment right now and you’ve got to work at it like you do as a return guy,” Turner told Hester at the end of last season.  “It’s got to be a full-time commitment, which means you’re going to have to practice full speed all the time so the quarterbacks can get the timing.” 

And now Hester supposedly is on track to make it happen.

“He’s accepted all that, and so far through the minicamp and the OTAs, he’s done a great job of learning the position and going out every day and learning all the little intricacies of playing the position,” Turner said.  “It’s one thing to know your assignment.  It’s another thing to be able to line up and play and adjust to cover-two, cover-three, to press coverage, to the blitz; all the different things you have to do, and so far Devin has stepped up and is doing a great job of that.”

So how good can Hester be?

“He’s a guy that has a burning desire to be the best,” Turner said.  “He is driven to be the best at whatever he does, and right now he is driven to be the best receiver in the NFL, and I wouldn’t sell Devin short of accomplishing anything.”

Yikes.

Hester is a wizard with the ball in his hands, and the Bears could make him into a Steve Smith-style presence once he masters the position.

Not bad for a guy who was drafted to return kicks and perhaps play defense.

The only caveat for the Bears?  If he excels, they’d better pay him.  Hester is signed through 2009, at which time he’d be only a restricted free agent, due to the quirks of the uncapped year. 

Even so, we could see another team flooding Hester with cash in order to come up with an offer that the Bears wouldn’t match, even if they tender him at the first-round and third-round level.