LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Wide receiver Earl Bennett explained Thursday at Bears minicamp why he struggled to get on the field and failed to make a catch last season as a rookie.

“Most of it was learning the plays,” said Bennett, who became the SEC’s all-time leader with 236 receptions in just three seasons at Vanderbilt. “I had a problem learning the plays at the beginning.”

Receiver Earl Bennett was selected by the Bears in the third round of the 2008 draft.

A year later, Bennett has gained a familiarity with the Bears offense that will allow him to play much faster, which is exactly what he did in three minicamp practices this week at Halas Hall.  

“When I first got [the playbook], it was a challenge I must say,” Bennett said. “It was by far the most plays I’ve seen in my life. But right now I feel like I’ve got a good grasp on it. I feel real comfortable with the playbook. I could just about play any position on the field.”

Bennett, who will be given every opportunity to win a starting job this season, impressed coaches in minicamp while working with the No. 1 offense opposite Devin Hester.

“Earl has looked good,” said coach Lovie Smith. “At the end of last year, we thought he had made a lot of progress. It’s not all new to him now. He’s fitting in fairly well. Earl has talent. He’s getting an opportunity to show exactly what he can do.”

Picked off: Free-agent acquisition Josh Bullocks, who signed with the Bears after spending his first four seasons with the Saints, intercepted a Kyle Orton pass in Thursday’s practice. Coincidentally, Bullocks’ lone pick last season came against Orton in an overtime loss to the Bears at Soldier Field.

The 6-1, 207-pounder from Nebraska was selected by the Saints in the second round of the 2005 draft (40th overall), one spot after the Bears chose wide receiver Mark Bradley.

“We’ve known about him for a while,” Smith said. “We looked at him quite a bit when he came out in the draft. He has good size. He started in the league for a long time. He has excellent speed. When we got a chance to meet him, he seemed like a guy who would fit in with what we were trying to do.

“It was good to see him make a couple plays; he had that interception out there. It seems like he’s eager to learn and we’re excited about getting the chance to coach him.”

Cornerback Nate Vasher and free safety Zackary Bowman also picked off passes in Thursday's practice.

Missing Mike: Bullocks followed safety Mike Brown at Nebraska and has done the same with the Bears. Brown, the franchise's all-time leader with seven defensive touchdowns, played nine seasons in Chicago.

“We’ll definitely miss Mike Brown,” Smith said. “He did a lot for our program, our organization. But each year brings on new challenges and it will be a challenge for somebody else to step up [as a leader].

“We have younger guys who are capable. Of course, we have one of our captains in Brian Urlacher. But I assume guys like Alex Brown, Lance Briggs and guys like that will step up and fill that role.”

Helping hand: Smith, who intends to take a more hands-on approach with the defense this year, continued working closely with nickel back Danieal Manning throughout minicamp, just as he did most of last season.

“I enjoyed it quite a bit,” Smith said. “I enjoy getting the chance to coach football. It’s about teaching at this time of the year. We didn’t put a lot of defense or offense in. We just wanted to teach the fundamentals as much as anything.”