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For Chicago Bears' Trubisky, it's all football

For the first time in rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky's life, football is a full-time job.

That's one of the biggest differences he has found between playing football as a student-athlete and as a pro.

"It wasn't really a surprise" Trubisky said after Tuesday's OTA practice, "but (there's a) realization of how much time you actually have to put in to be an NFL quarterback - an NFL player in general.

"Taking care of your body, studying all day, all night, right before you go to bed. It's all about blocking out distractions and how good you want to be. It's all about how much time you want to put in."

Fortunately for the Chicago Bears' quarterback of the future, he has a job he loves.

"It's been nice that the only thing I have to worry about is football," he said. "So it's been a lot of fun."

The Bears would prefer to proceed cautiously with the 22-year-old second overall pick in the draft, hoping to groom Trubisky for a year behind starter Mike Glennon, a fifth-year veteran.

But there is still urgency for the rookie to decipher new terminology, commit the playbook to memory, learn the protections for pass play and understand the progressions every time he drops back to throw the ball.

While he realizes the learning process is unending, Trubisky said it feels natural.

"It's football," he said. "It's what I was born to do. I've just got to come out here, keep learning, keep getting better every day. I would say it's pretty natural, but there's still so much more I can learn, so much more I can study and so much more I can improve at.

"I'm eager to keep doing that."

At this point, that's all the Bears are asking from the rookie, who was third on the depth chart behind Glennon and ninth-year veteran Mark Sanchez until Sanchez's recent knee injury temporarily moved Trubisky up one rung.

The Bears may not need Trubisky to start a game this coming season, but ideally he'd be ready if needed.

"The expectation is for him is to come in and develop as fast as possible," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. "He gets a great opportunity to sit behind Mike Glennon. He gets a chance to learn and grow in the system. Those are the only expectations, that he gets better every day."

Because he operated out of shotgun or pistol formations at North Carolina, Trubisky also has had to work on taking the snap directly from the center in the Bears' offense. And even though the terminology is different, there's some carry-over from the offense he knew to the one he's learning.

"This is a progression offense as well," Trubisky said. "So it's all about getting to your first and second read, then getting to your third, fourth, (and) getting the check-down to the running back.

"You've got to be good with your feet, you've got to be good with your eyes, you've got to go through your progressions, and you've got to be decisive. Coming from the offense I did at North Carolina has helped me a lot, but I've still got a long ways to go."

Trubisky is the only Bears draft pick who hasn't signed a contract, but even if he had time to, he wouldn't worry about that. There's too much else going on.

"I'm here to play football," he said. "I'm not worried about contracts."

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.

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