Put it this way. The Bears Mitch Trubisky draft pick would likely have been praised if this were 2018. Why? That means the young quarterback went back to school for another year of experience instead of declaring after just 13 starts. Immediately the statisticians cried foul. Quarterbacks almost never succeed in the NFL after such little playing time.
Of course they overlook guys like Cam Newton and Johnny Unitas but never mind.
The point is nobody could fathom how Chicago could justify trading up from #3 to #2 in the first round to take such an unproven player. What stuck in their craws the most? If this guy couldn’t even beat out Marquis Williams for the starting job at North Carolina, what in the world makes him worth all that?
Most of these people don’t even bother to do their research or get any kind of detail. They just chalk it up to him not being good enough. In actuality the truth of the situation is never so black and white. Far more shades of gray and it was no different here. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune got details on what exactly happened.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Bears Mitch Trubisky draft crush began with show of resilience
The decision regarding who would start for North Carolina had nothing to do with talent. Several of the receivers actually lobbied the coaches to let Trubisky play. They saw what he was becoming and what he could do. However, college has always been about its hierarchies. Almost always the more experienced players see the field.
Program politics were involved, there’s no doubt, and opinions differed. Back in October, NFL scouts said the team’s wide receivers had lobbied for Trubisky to be the starter the previous fall. Ultimately, coach Larry Fedora made the call. You can’t argue with the team’s results.
The Tar Heels had a school record 11-game winning streak in 2015 when they went 8-0 in the ACC Coastal Division and fell just short against Clemson in a 45-37 loss in the conference championship game. Williams, who did not respond to requests for an interview, set more than 20 school records before his career ended. He’s fifth all-time in total yards in the ACC. North Carolina led the nation averaging 7.33 yards per play in 2015.
“I got asked that hundreds of times,” Fedora said of Trubisky’s pre-draft process. “I would say in the first two years, Mitch probably wasn’t ready. In the third year (2015), Mitch could have been the starter. (But) we had really good chemistry on our team and Marquise took us to a conference championship game. It was one of those things.”
Put simply Williams had the hot hand and Fedora decided to ride it. Not an uncommon decision in the history of football. It was more about how well one guy was playing than how good the other guy was. Trubisky even got a chance to show not only how resilient he was in the face of the constant waiting, but also how incredible his preparation was.
Early in 2015 Williams was benched towards the end of the first half of a tight 10-7 game against Delaware. Hoping for a spark, Trubisky was sent in. What followed was an offensive explosion that paved the way to a 41-14 laugher.
Patience and perseverance
Sadly that game wasn’t enough to win the starting job. Trubisky was right back on the bench a week later. If anything it woke Williams up from his early season funk. He finished the year on a tear after that. It was a low point for Trubisky, who considered transferring to a new school where he might get a chance to play.
At times, Trubisky couldn’t help but wonder if Chapel Hill, which he fell in love with on his initial recruiting visit, was the right place. He mulled a transfer.
“We would have conversations where he would say, ‘I think I am doing all this hard work and it’s not going to pay off,'” said wide receiver Bug Howard, who went undrafted Saturday but signed with the Colts as a free agent. “That was very difficult. I’ve been there when he has gone through things and come back home and been like, ‘I don’t understand. What can I do?’
With support from teammates, Trubisky chose to stay put. Rather than take the easy way out, he’d work even harder. He wanted to be ready for his shot whenever it came. Coaches were beyond impressed with his level of preparation at the time, something that is rare for young players.
That drive to get on the field and stay there is what propelled Trubisky after practice. The Tar Heels would be done and he would remain on the field working with wide receivers. Going over routes. Perfecting throws to the spots they wanted balls. Away from the field, he poured over film, eager for his next opportunity to look just like his experience against Delaware.
That preparation was so effective that it seemed like every time Williams had to leave a game, Trubisky would come in and immediately strike for a big play. It happened almost like clockwork. Williams comes out, Trubisky goes in, touchdown, and Trubisky goes off.
Never getting enough
People often wonder why the greats like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees stand so far above others in the NFL. It’s not because they’re that much more physically gifted. As always it’s about the little things. Those men would put in hours upon hours of extra work in the film room and on the practice field. Doing everything in their power to fine tune their game and get an edge on the competition.
Trubisky has that same football junky mentality. Even before he started playing competitively, he sat in on high school football meetings as a fifth grader in his hometown of Mentor. He asked questions no kid his age ever asked. It’s why he was Mr. Ohio Football coming out of high school. It’s why he dominated in his only year as a starter for North Carolina and it’s why the Bears felt so comfortable staking their future in him.
