Jeff Dickerson, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Bears' Matt Nagy 'amazed' by Mitchell Trubisky's minicamp performance

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was effusive in his praise of second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who less than three weeks after receiving a brand-new offensive playbook had to apply whatever lessons he learned in the classroom to the field during Day 1 of voluntary veteran minicamp.

“I just got done talking to Mitch just a little bit ago, pulled him to the side and just told him really how amazed I was at how he got through this first day,” Nagy said on Tuesday. "He was impressive. I don’t want to put too much on him. But at the same time, he needs to understand that was pretty good, what just happened.

“Mitch is a very smart kid. He’s intelligent, very driven, motivated. A lot of the things we talk about as a team, he has. For him to be our quarterback and to have those traits, it’s hard to not smile.”

Nagy’s practice script calls for more plays to be installed as the week progresses, but for an on-field debut -- in Nagy’s offense -- the first-year head coach lauded Trubisky’s consistency.

“You’re going to have some poor reads here and there,” Nagy said. “There weren’t many. You’re going to have some poor throws here and there. There weren’t many. It’s Day 1. How do you improve to tomorrow? Because we are Day 1, things are going to add up a little bit. How do you handle the volume? We as coaches, how do you pull back to balance it? He’s not the only one, but for what he did today, I was very happy.”

The second overall pick in last year’s draft, Trubisky passed for 2,193 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions (77.5 quarterback rating) in 12 starts as a rookie.

Entering his second season as Chicago’s unquestioned starter, Trubisky’s teammates say they’ve noticed a big difference in the quarterback from just last year.

“[Trubisky] is a little bit more vibrant in the locker room,” Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks said. “His voice is a little bit more heard. Last year, not really knowing what the NFL is like, I think that this year he has a firm grasp on who he has to be for our team to be successful.”

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