Crouched down near to the ground, Mitchell Trubisky held his arms out in front of him while his 1-year-old son Hudson held a football above his head at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium on June 27.
The smile on Trubisky’s face nearly spanned from sideline to sideline as he played catch with his son on the field on which he starred in high school while 200 youngsters went through their workouts at a youth football camp at bears his name.
Oh yes, Mitchell Trubisky is living his best life and he knows it.
“It’s fun, man. I feel blessed,” Trubisky said. “I have an amazing family and support system.”
In the past year, Trubisky has celebrated his son’s first birthday with his wife Hillary, was inducted into Mentor’s sports Hall of Fame and signed a two-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that could keep him in the black and gold for the next three years.
If anything thinks coming home to spend a few days at the Mitchell Trubisky Youth Football Camp at his alma mater isn’t among the highlights as well, they’d be wrong.
“It’s awesome,” Trubisky said. “We are in Year 6 of the Mitch Trubisky and Mentor football camp. I’m just thanking to Coach (Matt) Gray and Coach (Steve) Trivisonno when he was here to allow me to continue to be part of this. I love coming back, giving back to the community and have fun teaching the game that we love.”
To him, it feels like just yesterday he was taking part in Mentor’s youth football camp. Back then, it didn’t have an NFL quarterback’s name on it. But he was out there with his buddies and the Mentor coaching staff. Now a bunch of those guys are in Mentor’s Hall of Fame with him.
And now it is HIM playing catch with his boy on the same field.
“It was so cool going into the hall of fame with Coach Triv and (assistant) Nes Janiak, (Brandon) Fritts and Conner (Krizancic),” he said. “My two best friends and the two biggest Mentor’s of my life.”
The special nature of spending time with his son on the turf at the JTO was special as well. Carrying Hudson from station to station, his young son sporting a big smile on his face the whole time, Trubisky chatted with the young camper and gave them tips.
“There’s nothing more special than being a father,” Trubisky said. “Being on this sacred, holy ground to me and sharing these moments with him is truly special.”
As much fun as Trubisky has had this offseason with the Hall of Fame induction and time with his family, work resumes shortly. The Steelers open camp in late July, and Trubisky will head into that camp with a two-year extension signed in May.
Trubisky is now under contract for three years, $19.4 million. He can reportedly earn up to $33 million over the length of his contract.
Trubisky will head into camp as the projected backup to second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. He threw for 1,252 yards and four touchdowns in his first year with the Steelers.
“Being extended at Pittsburgh is truly a blessing,” he said. “To be able to play the highest level of football for this long, I’m trying to keep it going. I’m excited to be doing it in Pittsburgh for sure.
“I didn’t really know what to expect. When they came to us and wanted to extend us, we were definitely for it. It made sense to stay with the Steelers. I’m very thankful to the Rooney family, Coach Tomlin and (GM) Omar (Khan) for having me back. I love being part of the team. I love the teammates. I love the city. I’m not too far from here so I can see my parents on both sides. It’s a great organization to be part of. I love the guys on the team. I think we can do special things in the future and I’m excited to be part of it.”
A year ago, Trubisky was named one of the Steelers’ captains, a title that meant a great deal to him. He said regardless of captaincy, he wants to be a person, player and teammate that will help those around them be better — including Pickett and anyone else in the quarterback room in Pittsburgh.
“Whatever resource I can be to any other guy on the team to know they can come to me with any question and I can help them be the best version of themselves,” Trubisky said. “I’m still trying to be the best version of myself, too.
Trubisky said he and Pickett have “a really close bond,” and he raved of the tight-knit in the quarterback group with himself, Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Tanner Morgan and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan.
“I love helping those guys,” he said. “I love talking ball and being part of something bigger than myself — and that’s the team and the Pittsburgh Steelers.”