The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
In his second season, Trubisky now a leader
CANTON » Mitchell Trubisky is a different player this year as a second-year pro than he was a year ago as a rookie — and many people are noticing.
“Look! There he is! He’s firin’ the team up!” said brother Mason Trubisky, standing on the far sideline at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 2 prior to the start of the Hall of Fame game.
Across the field in a tunnel that leads from the locker room to the field, there was No. 10 — Trubisky — electrifying his teammates to face the Baltimore Ravens much like he did when he was piloting the Mentor Cardinals to the regional finals in 2011 and the state semifinals in 2012.
Those Mentor teams were Trubisky’s team’s, much like these Chicago Bears are Trubisky’s team.
“There’s no doubt about it,” a Bears official said. “He’s the starting quarterback.”
Trubisky didn’t play in the Hall of Fame game, giving way to veteran Chase Daniel and others, but his impact on his team was noticeable from the moment he stepped onto the field at the venue formerly called Canton Fawcett Stadium.
Not only did Trubisky energize his team before taking the field, but much before that he was zipping passes to teammates in pregame drills, applauding his teammates efforts and carrying himself like a leader.
It’s a different mindset than a year ago when the rookie was just getting his feet wet after being taken No. 2 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“I think that’s the big thing — confidence,” said Dave Trubisky, standing on the sideline with family members watching his son’s pregame regimen. “He’s very confident now. He know he has to be the leader in the clubhouse. He’s taken that role.”
A year ago at this time, Trubisky was a relatively unknown commodity aside from being the second overall pick in the draft. But as fans filed into Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 2, countless fans were sporting a No. 10 jersey with Trubisky’s name on the back.
“It is really cool,” Dave Trubisky said. “His jersey sales are really taking off. People are starting to fall in love with him. We all knew people would fall in love. It would just take a little while.”
Dave Trubisky and his wife, Jeanne, smiled thinking about the dozens of family and friends who made the trip to Canton, including their children Mason, Manning and Mariah.
There were up to 40 family members and friends who traveled from all over Northeast Ohio to catch a glimpse of their family hero, even if he was only standing on the sideline in full uniform with a baseball cap on his head.
“It’s so exciting for him to be here and be in this atmosphere,” Dave said. “We’re happy it’s close. We’ve got the whole family here. It’s too bad Mitchell isn’t playing, but he’ll be playing in the next games, so it’s exciting.”
Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno was not able to make the trip to Canton, but watched from home.
“It’s a very special place to have him playing, especially since it’s a place he’s played before,” Trivisonno said of Trubisky’s performances in Canton with the Mentor football team. “I think he’s excited about the chance to come home.”
As a rookie, Trubisky completed 196 of 330 passes for 2,193 yards. He threw seven touchdowns and equalled that with seven interceptions.
His expectations are higher than that this year, and likely so are the expectations of his fans, such as lifelong Bears fan Brian Naslund.
Naslund traveled from Quad City — on the far side of Illinois near the Iowa border — to watch the Bears while proudly wearing Trubisky’s No. 10 jersey.
“He seems like he’s the future,” Naslund said. “We needed a quarterback to take the Bears back to the Super Bowl. If someone is going to do it, it’s going to be Mitchell Trubisky.”
Kampf can be reached via email at JKampf@ News-Herald.com; On Twitter @NHPreps and @JKBuckeyes