Mitch Trubisky is famous … just don’t tell him that.
“Obviously, you get recognized and you get that treatment,” Trubisky told The Athletic’s Jimmy Watkins after the football camp he hosted in his hometown of Mentor, Ohio. “But I still don’t see himself as a famous person.”
Trubisky earned premier prospect status when he won Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2012. He then took his talents to the University of North Carolina where he starred in his one year as a starting quarterback. From there, he was picked by the Bears with the second overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Despite the noteworthy fame and fortune that comes with being an NFL standout, Trubisky doesn’t see himself in that light just yet. Perhaps it’s that mindset that helped lead him to seek out his former high school football coach Steve Trivisonno so he could be a significant part of the summer football camp he grew up looking forward to as a youngster.
Signs of Trubisky’s star power in his hometown were evident at the camp. Enrollment jumped from 90 to 165 with Trubisky on board, which is impressive and notable during a time where many football camps are seeing a decline in interest and participation. It’s also worth highlighting Watkins mentions that Trubisky’s No. 10 Bears jerseys apparently dwarfed Cleveland Browns apparel at the camp.
Fame comes with NFL stardom, but Trivissono sees more than a professional football player with celebrity status. when he sees his former quarterback.
“There’s not enough role models in this country,” Trivisonno said. “In this town, he’s a role model.”
Watkins’ piece gives a behind-the-curtain peek at a local boy does good story with Trubisky leading a camp teaching grade school students in the first- through sixth-grades football’s fundamentals the same way he did. You’ll want to give it a read.