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Inside Mitch Trubisky's rise from the bench to the first round

Related Topics: Quarterback, Mentor, Ohio

This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's April 24 NFL Draft Issue. Subscribe today!

MITCHELL TRUBISKY IS beginning his pre-combine workout on the football field at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Orange County, California, and his attention is divided. The footwork drills are important, sure, but he's more concerned about Ricky and Jake, who are about 50 yards away, behind the end zone, just out of earshot. The road to the NFL draft is fraught with peril for a top-rated quarterback -- the general weirdness of the combine, the linguistic complexity of NFL playcalls, the mysteries of team workouts.