Lake Charles native Breck Ackley recognized as one of NFL’s top scouts

INDIANAPOLIS (KPLC) - Chicago Bears scout Breck Ackley, a Lake Charles native, was one of 10 NFL scouts presented with an inaugural BART Award Wednesday night at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

The BART Awards recognize the NFL’s top scouts, named after former Rams scout Danton Barto, who passed away last August due to COVID-19 complications at the age of 50. Voting for the awards was done by fellow scouts that were involved with NFL teams for five of the last six seasons.

“It’s humbling,” said Ackley told ChicagoBears.com. “We do a job where you don’t get recognized for a lot of stuff, so it’s pretty cool to receive some recognition. But it was really cool to see some of the other scouts here from our team and share it with them because really, at the end of the day, working with for this many years, they helped me develop into who I am.”

Ackley’s scouting responsibility is the southwest region of the country which includes his home state of Louisiana. Players on the Bears’ roster that he scouted include receiver Darnell Mooney, offensive guard Cody Whitehair and outside linebacker Trevis Gipson.

Before joining the Bears, Ackley worked as a graduate assistant coach at Southern, his alma mater, in 2010 and Southeastern in 2011.

As a player, Ackley was a kicker and punter at Southern University from 2003-06, leaving as the school’s all-time leading scorer. As a senior, he was named a first-team I-AA All-American by the American Football Coaches Association as a punter and chosen first-team All-SWAC as a kicker.

He signed with the Jaguars after a standout career at LaGrange High School.