LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Hanie never took a snap in a regular season game in 2008, but the young quarterback still had a memorable rookie year with the Bears.

Rookie Caleb Hanie passed for 321 yards and 3 TDs in four preseason games.

“It was a great learning experience for me,” said Hanie, who served as the team’s third-string quarterback behind starter Kyle Orton and backup Rex Grossman. “I didn’t expect anything too high; I just hoped for the best and everything worked out for me.

“Obviously I would’ve liked to get in and play because you never want to sit on the bench all year. But it was probably a good thing for me to sit and watch Kyle do his thing and see how he prepares for games and just learn and soak everything in and get a year under my belt.”

The only undrafted rookie to make the Bears’ 53-man roster in 2008, Hanie demonstrated poise, strength and athleticism in training camp and the preseason. He completed 29 of 49 passes for 321 yards with 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and an 82.1 passer rating in four preseason games.

During the regular season, Hanie split scout-team reps in practice with Grossman and worked on rhythm and timing with receivers as well as his footwork and fundamentals during individual drills. But Hanie admitted that it was difficult to keep improving without seeing any game action.

“It’s tough,” he said. “It gets a little monotonous. You’re doing all this work and you don’t get the payoff of the game at the end of the week. That’s the toughest part. But if you can get just a little bit better, it’s better than just staying the same or even regressing.”

Hanie was not bitter in April when he wasn’t among the 13 quarterbacks selected in the draft. It gave him the chance to pick the team he wanted to play for rather than vice versa.

Throwing 15 interceptions for a Colorado State team that stumbled to a 1-9 start before winning its final two games in 2007 no doubt was a major reason Hanie didn’t get drafted.

While ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. urged teams to select Hanie in a later round, most draft guides ignored him. One preview magazine had Hanie ranked 33rd among quarterbacks, behind Brad Roach of Catawba, Casey Hansen of Norfolk State, Craig Hormann of Columbia and Kelcy Luke of Alabama A&M—not exactly the Mount Rushmore of NFL prospects.

Nevertheless, the Bears think Hanie has the potential to become a starter sometime down the road. Next season, he hopes to at least compete for the No. 2 position.

“Obviously you want to progress up the depth chart as fast as possible,” Hanie said. “I’d like to make my way up and eventually be a starter one day, so the next step would be moving up to No. 2, and I think it’s a realistic goal for me.”

The Bears offense is much different than the one Hanie operated at Colorado State.

“There are a lot more audibles, especially this year with Kyle being a smart guy,” Hanie said. “They put a lot more stuff on his shoulders, and we’ll probably even make it more complex next year. But to this point, it’s the most complex [offense] I’ve been in.

“The main difference is all the protection schemes; knowing where your weaknesses are as far as different protections and knowing where to go with the football, making quick decisions and adjusting to the speed.”

Hanie will do many of the same drills this offseason that prepared him for the NFL combine a year ago. But he’ll focus more on position-specific work in advance of his second season.

“You’ve still got to train hard—pretty much prepare like you’re going into the draft again,” Hanie said. “That’s the way I view it. I’ll probably do a little more quarterback-oriented stuff that I’ve learned here so I can progress in this system and also studying the playbook, keeping up to date on that stuff. That way when I get here, I can compete.

“You don’t have to worry about your time in the 40. But you just want to stay in good shape, and get in even better shape—the best shape you can be in—before the season. You want to improve on the things that you know you need to improve on to make the next step.”