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Bears HC Matt Nagy already impressed with attitude, work ethic of Justin Fields
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The Chicago Bears may be sticking to their plan for Justin Fields’ development as a rookie, but that hasn’t stopped head coach Matt Nagy from showering the young quarterback with praise.
During a Wednesday Zoom call, Nagy discussed the early work of Fields during offseason OTAs. According to Nagy, Fields has been as good as advertised when it comes to learning new things and showing his play on the field.
“Everything that we thought he was going to be when he got here with learning and being obsessed with everything that we teach him and then being able to be himself out on the field — he’s really doing things in a really good way,” Nagy said according to ESPN.
Nagy did reiterate that the plan is for Fields to start the season as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart. However, he is still impressed with how calm and even-keeled Fields is from play-to-play.
“He’s done a really good job at just trying to digest everything we are teaching in this offense in particular right now,” Nagy said. “He’s extremely, extremely calm, which I love. So when something bad happens, and the next play, it doesn’t matter to him because he’s so calm and he has confidence in himself.
“When something good happens, he reacts the same. And that part, that’s a good trait to have, because you can never get too high, you can never get too low. That’s why he’s had the success he’s had.”
Running back David Montgomery was also among players to praise Fields’ attitude and leadership abilities early on:
“Justin is definitely a freakish athlete, to say the least,” said Montgomery. “He already kind of carries that leader mantra that you rarely see in rookies that I know I didn’t have.”
Even if Fields starts 2021 as the backup, it sounds like he is already laying the groundwork to earn the starting job. Hopefully, he doesn’t have to wait long for that opportunity.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.