Mitchell Trubisky's rise to franchise QB timed well for Bears in 2018, beyond

At the beginning of his first training camp with the Bears, Mitchell Trubisky, the first quarterback taken in the 2017 NFL draft, couldn't even handle snaps under center. Anyone who had followed Trubisky's journey to that moment last July couldn't have been surprised.

Nor should any of them be surprised that, as 2018 dawns, Trubisky is the cornerstone of the franchise's future, and he has earned the chance to prove why the Bears banked so much on him. Nothing special at the start, worth watching to see where he goes from there, and then arriving — it was a microcosm of his football life.

"I think he's progressed quite a bit in a short time," Bears broadcaster and former Bears quarterback Jim Miller told Sporting News as Trubisky's rookie season drew to a close.

Miller remembered Trubisky's struggles as two fumbled snaps in his first four plays. Other onlookers at Olivet Nazarene University recalled it as the first two snaps that day, and others as three out of the first four, and as three of the first six. It just kept happening, though.

"You have to remember, though, he took something like two snaps under center his whole time at North Carolina," Miller added.

But everything about Trubisky's football career has needed a fast-forward explainer ... so fast-forward to Week 14 of the Bears' 2017 regular season, in Cincinnati. It was Trubisky's ninth start, and all things considered, it was his best. He was 25-of-32 for 271 yards, a touchdown pass, no turnovers and his first career rushing touchdown — a run-pass option executed flawlessly from four yards out.

The Bears demolished the Bengals 33-7, breaking an increasingly ugly five-game losing streak that may well have put the nail in the coffin of coach John Fox or general manager Ryan Pace, or both. There's no reason for optimism with the franchise except the handful of young players that have arrived the last couple of years.

The one inspiring the most optimism is Trubisky. It’s a wary optimism, considering the bleak history at that position with the Bears and the downward spiral the last four seasons. Plus, there's the history of potential that takes a minute to be realized, a history repeating itself with him now.

Now, though, says center Cody Whitehair, who has bonded with the man to whom he's been snapping from the beginning, it's being realized.

"I've never really played with young guys before; they've always been older players," Whitehair said, noting that in his two seasons his quarterbacks have included Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley and Mike Glennon. "But for Mitch to just come in, to not really know what to expect — the biggest thing about him is the way he carries himself, the confidence he's had.

"Most guys in his position, they're not really sure of themselves, but he's never really been down on himself, or on his teammates or of his ability to lead this team."

That's been part of Trubisky's tale since he appeared on the NFL's radar at the start of 2016, when after three years of waiting, he got to start at North Carolina. It's well-known among college and NFL draft followers that he wasn't considered a serious NFL prospect at midseason; that he began emerging as a potential first-rounder as he started the draft evaluation process … and that, suddenly, on draft night in late April, he was targeted by the Bears, who traded up from third to second overall to get him.

Trubisky had started just 13 games in college. Deshaun Watson, taken 10 picks later (and a starter in Houston three weeks faster), started 35, including two national title games for Clemson. Comparatively — and unusually, considering he played at a major program — Trubisky was a mystery.

The first impression, of course, drew frowns. Then his attributes became more evident.

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"He's competitive, he's tough, he's a good athlete, he's accurate — and he has a command that's obvious," Miller said. That emerged in training camp, then in scrimmages, then in preseason games. Still, only a disaster would likely have gotten him onto the field before the end of the season, if at all.

Disaster struck after four games with Glennon starting, and in came Trubisky, a rookie with an almost comically poor supporting cast on offense: running back Jordan Howard, fourth-round all-purpose back Tarik Cohen and a bare cupboard of receivers.

"It was like he was going onto the field with two hands tied behind his back," Miller said.

There were times Trubisky wasn't pretty, early in his stint (a nightmarish loss in New Orleans, during which tight end Zach Miller suffered his gruesome leg injury on a touchdown catch that was overturned on replay), and later (his three-interception game against the Lions in Week 15). There were times when he showed glimpses of the future envisioned for him, like in his second start, in Baltimore, when he led a game-winning drive in overtime.

And there were times the Bears coaches really did tie his hands, exemplified by his third start, against the Panthers, when he attempted seven passes, completed four, got sacked four times ... and won 17-3 with the offense producing three points and the defense 14.

It made no sense, and perfect sense, at the same time.

Mitchell Trubisky dives for the end zone against the Panthers. (Getty Images)

"I think as a young player, you try to figure out things; you don't want to make mistakes," Whitehair said of the limited game plan for Trubisky early on. But, he added, as the starts, practices, after-practice work, video and playbook study came, the command of the game and the huddle grew.

"The last three or four weeks he's really progressed," Whitehair said. "He's seen a few more things, he's able to think a lot faster, he's more comfortable with everything. He's also a great practice player. He really loves to practice."

The practices and games in Trubisky's rookie season are winding to a close. He enters the finale with four wins in 11 starts. As mentioned, there likely will be turnover on the sideline, the front office and the locker room, never ideal for a quarterback's development.

There are pieces in place, like Howard, Cohen, Eddie Jackson and, if and when they return from their injuries, Miller and Leonard Floyd.

"But really," Jim Miller, the broadcaster, said of the star to whom the Bears are hitching themselves, "it's Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell."