LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Hanie has yet to take his first NFL regular-season snap, but the Bears are confident that the second-year quarterback is ready to compete for the No. 2 position behind Jay Cutler.

Hanie signed with the Bears in 2008 as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State and then proceeded to make the roster as the No. 3 quarterback after performing well in training camp and the preseason.

Caleb Hanie earned a spot on the Bears roster as an undrafted free agent in 2008.

“We like Caleb,” general manager Jerry Angelo told fans during a Q&A session at Sunday’s Bears Expo. “Just because he was a college free agent doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good football player. He had a very good career at Colorado State.”

Hanie demonstrated poise, strength and athleticism last preseason, completing 29 of 49 passes for 321 yards with 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and an 82.1 passer rating in four games.

“We really liked the way he handled himself in the preseason,” Angelo said. “We had really no expectations. We did like him obviously or we wouldn’t have signed him. What he did in the preseason games with very little work [in practice] was pretty exciting to see and pretty astonishing.

“We feel good that he has the things that we look for physically. He’s been a model in terms of his work ethic [and he has] a year in the system. There have been a good handful of quarterbacks around the league that have started out like Caleb Hanie and have had very successful careers.”

After training at Perfect Competition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in advance of last year’s NFL Scouting Combine, Hanie returned to the facility in February to work out with some of this year’s top prospects. One of those players was Abilene Christian wide receiver Johnny Knox, who was later selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the draft.

“I liked everything [Hanie] was able to do in a limited amount of playing time,” said coach Lovie Smith. “He’s a mobile guy and he has a strong arm. Sometimes you have to go with an unknown. I know he hasn’t played a lot, but we like his upside. We don’t plan on Jay missing a lot of games, but if we need to go to our second quarterback, we feel pretty good about Caleb Hanie.”

The Bears are also high on Brett Basanez, who will challenge Hanie for the No. 2 job. The Chicago native and former Northwestern star appeared in one regular-season game during three years with the Carolina Panthers, completing 6 of 11 passes for 56 yards with one interception in a 37-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.

Basanez, who grew up in Arlington Heights, broke 32 Northwestern records including career passing yards, total offense, completions and passing touchdowns.

"When he played at Northwestern, he was the Big Ten offensive player of the year, which is a pretty tough thing to do," Angelo said. "I think that says a lot about Brett, too."

While the Bears believe in their quarterbacks, Angelo didn't discount the possibility of adding a backup.

"We like the combination of all three of them and feel real good about that position," Angelo said. "If there is a veteran out there that we feel could make us a better football team or we need to do something, there were veterans on the street last year when we went to camp. We feel those players will be there again this year."