LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Rain chased the Bears inside the Walter Payton Center for the start of their three-day rookie minicamp Friday, but the wet conditions didn’t dampen coach Lovie Smith’s enthusiasm.

Running back Matt Forte answers questions from reporters following his first practice with the Bears Friday at Halas Hall.

Smith praised a handful of players after the workout, beginning with running back Matt Forte, who was as impressive as any of the 50 rookie participants. The second-round pick from Tulane looked especially fluid and athletic catching the ball out of the backfield.

“Matt Forte stood out,” Smith said. “I thought he caught the ball well. He showed some good quickness, he has good size. All the things we thought coming in, we got a chance to see.”

The Bears coach also lauded the performances of three other draft picks: third-round receiver Earl Bennett, fourth-round safety Craig Steltz and fifth-round cornerback Zack Bowman.

“I really liked what those guys did,” Smith said. “A couple of guys caught our eye. This camp is set up for skill guys to show what they have a little bit more than some of the linemen. You want your skill draft picks to stand out that way.”

While already familiar with the rookies, Smith was happy to see them perform in Bears uniforms for the first time Friday at Halas Hall.

“You have an idea,” he said. “You watched them in the Combine, you watched them in our private workouts. But it is a little different when you actually get your hands on them here.

“For them, of course, it’s a big day. Last night, I’m sure they didn’t get a lot of sleep, wanting to perform at their highest today. But normally good players stand out, just like they did in college and that’s what happened today.”

While Bennett displayed quickness and play-making ability, he also dropped a few passes.

“Anytime a ball hits my hands, I consider it a drop,” he said. “So I dropped a couple, but I’ll just try to make it up and catch the next ball that comes to me. Little things like that I’ve got to continue to cut down on and get better overall.”

Linemen don’t participate in 7-on-7 drills, but left tackle Chris Williams had a productive day.

Chris Williams warms up before Friday's practice in the Walter Payton Center.

“I feel like I learned a lot,” said the Bears’ first-round draft pick from Vanderbilt. “Coach [Harry] Hiestand is a great coach and I feel like I improved a lot in just one day and a couple of hours.”

“He looked good in drills,” Smith said of the 6-6, 315-pounder. “It’s hard to really tell a lot about offensive linemen on a day like today. But Chris is an excellent athlete. We know he’ll be a part of what we do this coming year and he should only get better and better.”

The quarterbacks in Friday’s non-contact practice, undrafted free agents Caleb Hanie of Colorado State and Nick Hill of Southern Illinois, both looked sharp at times.

Hanie connected with undrafted free agent receiver Curtis Hamilton of Western Kentucky on a long pass down the right sideline and later hit Texas A&M tight end Joey Thomas—one of 28 prospects participating in the minicamp on a tryout basis—deep down the middle.

“Right now they haven’t had a chance to digest a lot of the offensive playbook,” Smith said of the quarterbacks. “You just want the guys to come out and take control of the huddle and complete some passes. It’s kind of as simple as that.

“I like what Nick and Caleb were able to do. Of course, all quarterbacks throw some good passes and have a few bad ones in there. It was a typical first day for both of our quarterbacks.”

Other players who distinguished themselves during Friday’s practice included wide receiver Marcus Monk, a seventh-round pick from Arkansas who made several nice catches; Antonio Lewis, an unsigned defensive back from Virginia who made a leaping interception after allowing the long completion to Hamilton; and Trey Brown, an undrafted free agent from UCLA who made a quick break to knock away and nearly intercept a pass over the middle.

The rookies will practice again Saturday and Sunday. The sessions are closed to the public.