5 things we learned about new Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, including his self-comparison to Russell Wilson and how he manages his epilepsy

New Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields caught a 6 a.m. flight the day after the first round of the NFL draft so he could spend Friday touring Halas Hall, meeting with his new coaches and teammates and speaking with the Chicago media.

Fields said on a videoconference call with reporters he “enjoyed every second of it” as he introduced himself to an organization and a fan base that are placing their hopes on him.

After calls Friday with Fields and Ohio State coach Ryan Day, here are five things we learned about the player Bears general manager Ryan Pace traded four draft picks to acquire at No. 11.

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1. Fields said he tries to pattern his game after Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

Fields said when he was in junior high he tried to emulate Cam Newton but now tries to pattern his game after Wilson.

It was a notable comparison because the Bears made a large offer of draft picks to try to acquire Wilson from the Seahawks earlier this offseason. The Seahawks and coach Pete Carroll declined to trade their seven-time Pro Bowler, leaving the Bears to continue the search for their next quarterback.

Fields said he has watched a lot of film on Wilson and sees similarities in their arm talent and how they can extend plays with their legs.

“Just his deep ball is one (thing that impresses), just off the top of my head,” Fields said. “The way he puts it up, a lot of arc on it. His accuracy, of course, and just how he carries himself as a leader, as a teammate. I like his game because he’s an accurate quarterback. He also uses his legs.”

2. Fields said his epilepsy has had ‘zero effect’ on his football career.

The news that Fields has been managing epilepsy for some time was leaked to the media earlier this week and became a storyline in the buildup to the draft.

Fields said Friday that he was diagnosed with the neurological disorder after having a seizure in school and waking up in an ambulance when he was in ninth grade. Since then, he has been able to manage it with medication and said he hasn’t missed any practices or games because of it.

“It’s pretty simple for me to manage it,” he said. “I just have to take three to four pills a night every night. So it’s nothing crazy. It’s been a thing that has been there for seven to eight or so years. I’m used to it and I’m just going to continue to deal with it and continue to play the game I love.”

Day said Fields was professional and mature about managing it, and Pace said the team is comfortable with the medical information it received.

3. Fields said he is not concerned with the high expectations he can finally put an end to the Bears quarterback frustration — because he also holds them.

If Fields didn’t know how starved Bears fans are for good quarterback play before the draft, he does now.

Fields already has fielded multiple questions about whether he is ready to handle the pressure that comes with being a quarterback in Chicago, where decades of frustration at the position have taken their toll on the fan base.

“I don’t think there’s pressure at all on me because I expect myself to be a franchise quarterback,” he said. “I came from a big program like Ohio State where the fan base is very passionate about their sports. ... I expect myself to be a franchise quarterback and one day hopefully a top-five quarterback in this league. That’s what I’m going out to do. I’m going to work every day to reach my goal and reach new heights.”

Fields said he learned to keep an even-keeled demeanor from his father, but Day said there’s a lot of motivation underneath that facade.

“When you look at Justin, he burns hot on the inside, but you can’t always see it,” Day said. “He’s pretty even keeled. He doesn’t get real emotional — at least you can’t see it from the outside. He keeps it close to the vest. I know that whether it was when he first got here, coming off the Clemson loss last year and now going through this whole draft process, you can see he gets motivated quickly. His competitive fire gets lit quickly. I know he’s really anxious to get going here.”

4. Day said he believes Fields will be able to make the adjustments he needs to at the NFL level.

Among the criticism analysts lofted about Fields this spring was that he needs to improve his processing speed and ability to read defenses if he is going to succeed at the NFL level.

Day pointed to Fields’ track record of success at Ohio State — the Buckeyes were 20-2 with two College Football Playoff appearances under him — as proof that Fields is successful when he wants something.

“The thing about him is if maybe it’s not working, he’ll get it solved quickly,” Day said. “When that game ticks up in the NFL, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t pick it up really, really fast and make those adjustments. Why? Because he can. He’s really intelligent. He’s really athletic. And really competitive. He’ll get that really, really fast, and they’ll train him in those areas. But when he was with us, the decision-making and all that stuff was excellent.”

Day said he has been in contact with Bears coach Matt Nagy about Fields since Fields transferred from Georgia. The two coaches played against each other when Nagy was at Delaware and Day was at New Hampshire, and they’ve maintained a relationship since then.

Day said he used the words “generational talent” to describe Fields in those conversations.

5. Day said Fields has a ‘quiet confidence that permeates around the locker room.’

Day spoke highly of the way Fields inspired his teammates because of what he did on the field and also the way he operated off it. He noted Fields spent most of his time last season either in his apartment with his dog or at the Buckeyes training facility.

“He demands respect of the team because of who he is, his character, his talent level, what he does on the field and then also how he carries himself,” Day said. “He can get after you if need be, but he also can put his arm around you and connect with you that way, kind of pull guys along with you.”

Day pointed to Fields’ organization of the “We Want to Play” movement last summer as an example of his leadership and commitment to playing. Fields started a petition to get the Big Ten to reinstate the football season after it was postponed because of COVID-19. He went on national television to talk about it, and the petition received more than 300,000 signatures.

“He wasn’t reckless about it,” Day said. “That’s what’s really cool about it. He was really respectful, well thought out and a lot of people followed him.”

Fields said he has played football since he was 5, and sitting out the early part of the season was “the weirdest I felt in a long time.”

“Me seeing the amount of work my teammates put in in the offseason, me knowing how much they wanted to get back in that position, to be able to play Clemson again — I was going to do everything that I could to help get our season back,” he said.

“One of the reasons why I pushed that petition was because my social media is kind of on a bigger platform than most other college players, so I thought that the size of my social media platform could have reached a lot of people across the country and maybe have influenced the season of flipping the Big Ten decision to cancel the season.”