The Chicago Bears' first-round draft pick is, as he says, "a very simple person."
"That's who I've always been," Mitchell Trubisky told reporters as he was introduced in Chicago Friday. "That's how I was raised."
So simple, in fact, he still drives his grandmother's 1997 Toyota Camry.
"That's my car," he said. "It's got 170,000 miles on it so it can still lug around a little bit."
And Trubisky doesn't plan on switching rides anytime soon. In fact, he revealed during the press conference at Halas Hall that Bears GM Ryan Pace wants him to drive it from Chapel Hill, North Carolina to his new home-- Chicago.
Trubisky landed in Chicago Friday, just one day after being drafted as the Bears' latest quarterback of the future in a stunning move Thursday night.
.@Mtrubisky10 has arrived, Chicago. pic.twitter.com/wypXex27ON
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 28, 2017
But he also has a special connection to the team he's now a part of.
"In elementary school the first book I read from the library was a biography of Walter Payton," Trubisky said. "I’m looking forward to wearing the Bears jersey like he did."
Trubisky was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick after the team traded up a spot with the San Francisco 49ers and surrendered three draft choices to do it.
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"I’m glad they came up and got me at No. 2," he said. "I think it shows that they believe in me. And I believe in what Ryan Pace and Coach Fox are doing in Chicago, and I can't wait to be a part of it."
There was some thought the Bears might wait a round or two before taking a quarterback after signing Mike Glennon last month to replace the departed Jay Cutler. That couldn't have been more wrong.
The price for Trubisky was high, with San Francisco getting the Bears' No. 3 pick, a third- and fourth-round choice this year plus a third-rounder next year. It was a surprising move, particularly since San Francisco general manager John Lynch was ready to take Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas at No. 2 anyway.
The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Trubisky said had little contact with the Bears leading up to the draft. The Bears did see him at the combine and at his pro day.
"I’m going to prepare like a starter and when the coaches say I’m ready to go into the game that’s when I will," Trubisky said.
Trubisky made just 13 college starts, all in a breakout junior season last year. He set the single-season the school's single-season record for yards passing (3,748), touchdowns (30) and total offense (4,056) in 2016. He ranked fifth in the country with a 68.0 completion percentage while throwing just six interceptions. He also ran for five touchdowns last season, after backing up quarterback Marquise Williams as a freshman and sophomore.
The Bears finished last in the NFC North at 3-13 in their second season under Pace and coach John Fox. Years of shoddy drafting combined with a long list of injuries exposed a glaring lack of depth. It all added up to Chicago's lowest win total since the 1973 team went 3-11, the most losses since a 1-13 finish in 1969 and a busy offseason for a rebuilding team.
"It’s going to be a grind and I’m going to embrace that all the way. I know I have a lot to improve on," Trubisky said.
