Coach Ben Johnson told reporters that the Bears were "smitten" with Iowa center Logan Jones following his pre-draft visit to Halas Hall.

Apparently, the feeling was mutual.

"It reminded me a lot of Iowa; just the culture, the people," Jones said after being selected by the Bears with the 57th pick in the second round of the draft. "It truly is a special place. I can just tell. I'm just so fortunate. I was hoping I'd get the call and to be able to come play here. To be able to do that, it's a dream come true."

Jones spent his first two years in Iowa City as a defensive tackle before switching to center in 2022. Four seasons and 51 starts later he won the Rimington Trophy as the best collegiate player in the nation at the position.

The 6-3, 299-pounder may have to apply the same perseverance and patience to his NFL career given the presence of veteran center Garrett Bradbury, who was acquired via a trade last month following Drew Dalman's unexpected retirement. But Jones isn't concerned about the depth chart as he prepares to join the Bears.

"Garrett Bradbury's here," Jones said. "He's been in the league for a long time, and you've got a bunch of other guards. [Joe] Thuney [is] a [future] Hall of Famer. I've just got to learn from them and ask questions. Obviously, there's a competition part of it. You both compete; iron sharpens iron type of thing. So, we'll both get better for it. I'm just going to come in and work as hard as I can."

That work begins next week with the start of rookie minicamp. Players will report to Halas Hall Thursday and then practice Friday and Saturday.

Learning the playbook no doubt will be the top priority for all rookies. It's especially important for a center, which may be the second most difficult position to learn (behind quarterback) in the Bears offense.

"After talking to the coaches, it feels like there's a little bit more on the center's plate here, which is exciting—the terminology and learning all that," Jones said. "Being in a new setting, meeting new guys, being a center you have to be able to go up there, make a call and be confident; have the guys around you trust you. That's something you have to earn. It's like being a freshman again. You have to come in and earn the trust of everybody. It will be fun. I'm looking forward to it."

Jones believes that spending the past six years at Iowa prepared him to succeed at the next level, citing how coach Kirk Ferentz prioritizes the offensive line and draws upon his experience as an NFL offensive line coach from 1993-98.

"He's coached offensive line for a long time and really thinks that's important," Jones said. "The way they go about their business is like an NFL organization, and coach Ferentz coached in the NFL, too. So, I think that's where he got it from. But just very professional in your approach towards everything you do, in the way you practice. There's never as much about the on-the-field stuff but the off-the-field stuff, how you handle your business and your approach.

"Going back to coach Ferentz and how he runs his program, he just helped me develop as a man and understand the importance of showing up every day, your approach when you show up to practice, what your teammates see, just the things off the field. Being there for six years, it definitely helped me grow. Who I was when I got there and who I am now, it's just completely different. I think there's a lot of benefit to that. I was just very fortunate."

Reflecting on his career at Iowa, Jones recalled that switching from defense to offense was more difficult than he anticipated. The move was made after Hawkeyes center Tyler Linderbaum was selected by the Ravens with the 25th pick in the 2022 draft. Linderbaum had also started his career at Iowa as a defensive lineman.

"Being young, my first thought was, 'I'd be like Tyler, it should be easy,'" Jones said. "No, it was the exact opposite. I was young and I wanted to play at a super high level. But I think the biggest thing was my mental capacity for handling things, being confident and making sure everybody was on the same page.

"The first couple years were humbling, and it's still humbling. It's a tough position. But [I was able to] just continue to grow, trust the process with the coaches, and everything worked out."