LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Mandatory minicamp might not be the best place to catch a glimpse of rookie Dan LeFevour in his attempt to transition from spread quarterback at Central Michigan to the Chicago Bears’ complicated system led by offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Martz explained Saturday that although the club likes LeFevour’s upside and study acumen, the best place for him right now is on the sideline.
The club demonstrated that sentiment during Saturday’s practice by reducing the rookie's repetitions to virtually zero during team drills.

“We don’t give him much right now,” Martz said. “He’s lucky to find the huddle from the sideline right now. That’s kind of the way it goes, really. The worst thing we could do right now is put him in there, and give him a bunch of plays. We’d like to have him be a spectator as much as possible until we put him in there. You can really break a guy’s confidence, too. So we’re very careful about how much [we] give him.”

A sixth-round pick (181st overall) and Benet Academy graduate, LeFevour signed a four-year contract last week with the club. A four-year starter at Central Michigan, LeFevour became the only player in NCAA history to reach 12,000 passing yards (12,905) and 2,500 rushing yards (2,948) in his career.

LeFevour is currently third on the Bears’ depth chart behind Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie.

“He’s very promising. I like his ability,” Martz said of LeFevour. “He’s worked hard at learning what we do. He’s really a student of the game.”