Coming off of a busy offseason, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ready to break out in his second year

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has been incredibly busy this offseason. So busy, in fact, that he hasn’t had much time to shave.

“[I’m] doing a little experimentation,” he told the media at North Central College in Naperville on Monday. “[I’ve] just been really busy, so I haven’t gotten around to [shaving]. I got some compliments, so I think I might keep it going. We’ll see.”

Trubisky was in town as a part of the 14th annual Gatorade Beat the Heat program, in which he spoke to youth football players about the importance of hydration. After talking to the players and the press, he partook in drills with the players. He realizes that, especially during the summer, staying hydrated is crucial for any athlete.

Jacob Infante

“These last couple weeks have been steaming hot,” he said. “I’m here with Gatorade today to get the message across to these kids about hydration, and how you need to stay safe out here in the heat so you can come out here, have a good time, and get better at your sport, across all sports.”

Jacob Infante

Trubisky knows that he’s in good hands, though, with the training staff that the Bears have.

“[We hydrate] throughout all of practice, and before and after,” he explained. “We’ve got one of the best - probably the best - sports nutritionist staffs in the nation with Jen Gibson at the helm. We’re pros, but there’s still a lot we need to learn about taking care of our bodies, especially some of us coming straight out of college.”

With training camp right around the corner, Trubisky is excited to get back to work and prepare for the 2018 season; so much so that he says that he has been ready to play for the whole offseason.

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“I’ve been real busy, but I’ve been itching the whole time. I’m ready to get back.” he said. “I’m excited to see all of the guys. I got a couple more days, so I’m just going to lock in on training and make sure I’m ready to go when I gotta report.”

Going into his second season in the NFL, he feels as though he was much more prepared for the offseason than he was last year.

“Time management is everything. You’re just maximizing every minute of every day to get better, and you’re trying to get an edge. You’re trying to get one percent better every day. If you know how to manage your time, then you know how to maximize when you’re working hard and you know how to maximize when you’re relaxing, decompressing and taking a break. I feel like I’ve gotten better every day this offseason, whether it’s in training, studying the playbook, or just taking some time to sit back and keep perspective on the whole situation. It’s been good and I’m just more aware of everything I need to do going forward.”

Over the offseason, Trubisky spent time with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who had a second-year breakout that many expect out of the Chicago signal-caller. Trubisky got the opportunity to work with him, hang out with him and get ready for the upcoming season.

“Jared’s a really good dude, first of all,” he told the press. “He loves the game of football, and what I’ve learned from him is just how to continue to be yourself and how to have a lot of confidence after a lot of people doubted him and wrote him off after the first season. He took a lot of lumps and he took a lot of heat for what he did his rookie year, but he was still the same person and he stuck with it, and he worked his butt off to have a really good year, too. I think that that just motivates me that much more to not be shaken by outside opinions and everything you’ve got to do, and that, no matter what you did the year before, you can always have a breakout year the next year. So I’m looking forward to Year 2, and it was awesome to room with him, and I think we just motivated and pushed each other while we were rooming together in the spring and summer a little bit.”

A lot of people have compared Trubisky to Goff, in that both didn't have spectacular rookie seasons but have the chance to have huge sophomore campaigns. That said, there are a lot more expectations for the North Carolina alum than there were last offseason, when he was a backup under then-starter Mike Glennon. Despite these lofty standards, Trubisky is as confident as he has ever been.

“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to be yourself,” he told Windy City Gridiron. “I’ve studied a lot of quarterbacks and I’ve tried to take a little bit from everybody’s game, but it’s all about playing your game and playing this game you know how.”

“Everyone’s different, so you just got to do what comes natural to you and be your own person: lead the way you know how, work the way you know how. I’m just being me. I’m not dealing with anybody else’s expectations besides my own. I’ve just got to make sure that my teammates believe in me day in and day out - which they do, and it’s given me a lot of confidence up to this point - and I’m excited about this season, but I’m not going to be anyone but myself, and be the person I know how to be.”

Part of those expectations are due in part to the Bears’ new offensive scheme. Under new head coach Matt Nagy and new offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, the team is expected to run an offense inspired by a lot of West Coast and spread philosophies. This brings about a lot of similarities to the offense that Trubisky ran in North Carolina under head coach Larry Fedora. The quarterback says that, although the two offenses have their similarities, they aren’t entirely identical.

“It’s different and similar,” he explained in a one-on-one interview. “All offenses have that. Football is football at the end of the day: you can pass or run and do a bunch of things in between. I’m not trying to give away any secrets, but we’re going to do some things similar to what I did in college. Coach Nagy has been able to come in and instill his offense and teach the complexities of it and has allowed us to execute faster, and I’m just looking forward to going out there and getting better with the guys every single day.”

With much excitement and anticipation building around Trubisky and the rest of the Bears roster this year, it seems as though that feeling is mutual with the quarterback. He is determined, confident, and ready to get back onto the field.