LAKE FOREST, Ill. – During a pre-draft visit with the Chicago Bears, Tyrique Stevenson was brought in to the team’s draft room for a discussion with general manager Ryan Poles. The subject was why Stevenson had transferred from Georgia to Miami prior to the 2021 season.

Poles wasn’t looking for reasons it didn’t work out in Athens, he was looking for accountability.

“The one thing I look for is just ownership of some situations,” Poles said. “Maybe it’s a guy that was a five-star [recruit] ... that came in with a sense of entitlement in that the job should just be handed to him. And maybe they didn’t handle a certain situation the way that they should’ve and they’ve grown from it, but they own it and they say, ‘You know what, I messed up there and that’s on me.’”

Stevenson admits he could have handled things better with the Bulldogs, and the ability to overcome adversity and learn from mistakes are two qualities that help define his football career. He bounced back in Miami, earning third-team All-ACC honors before being taken in the second round by the Bears, who traded up from the No. 61 pick to take him at No. 56. And he has even had to persevere in Chicago.

During spring OTAs, Stevenson was the early favorite for the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite veteran Jaylon Johnson. As training camp started, Stevenson had a noticeable edge in the competition.

Then came a couple admitted “slip-ups” in practice, which led Stevenson to lose some of his first-team reps to fifth-round rookie Terell Smith.

The problem was Stevenson was trying to cover everyone the same way, like he did in college. But he learned he couldn’t cover DJ Moore in practice the same way he covered Chase Claypool.

“When I first started out, I couldn’t stick with [Moore],” Stevenson said. “Watching his highlights and then going against him are two different things. Just from Practice 1 till now, I got more comfortable with playing against a veteran with understanding his go-to moves or his key points.

“Like [in Monday’s practice], he still caught a slant route, but I was there. I wouldn’t normally be there. Seeing myself get better, it’s preparing me to go out there and cover guys that are going to be lined across from me.”

Stevenson made the most of his opportunity in the Bears’ preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. He had a team-high seven tackles (one for a loss) and a pass breakup.

But there’s one play the 6-foot, 204-pounder wishes would have gone differently. In the first quarter of Chicago’s 23-17 win, Stevenson knocked away a pass intended for wide receiver Colton Dowell along the Bears sideline. The celebration -- from quarterback Justin Fields, who was front and center to hype up the rookie, to Stevenson’s defensive teammates, coaches and members of the equipment staff -- made it feel like the cornerback recorded the play of the game.

“It was a great moment,” Stevenson said. “It could have been an awesome moment if I caught the ball.”

With Smith sidelined by an undisclosed injury, Stevenson has a chance to separate himself from the pack during joint practices in Indianapolis this week.

“This is going to be a big week for him because he’s going to be able to guard different guys and compete against those guys,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “I think he’ll be able to see how he can adjust his skill set to fit the player he’s guarding. It’s going to be fun.”

Stevenson stopped having fun at Georgia and became homesick. He went to Athens expecting to play cornerback, but two NFL-bound prospects -- Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell -- were ahead of him on the depth chart. Bulldogs coaches saw an opportunity to use Stevenson's versatility in the secondary by having him play the star position, a hybrid between a nickel back and linebacker.

“[I] kind of got hit in the face when I got to Georgia,” Stevenson said. “Top recruit in the nation, thinking that everything was going to be rolled out, kind of smacked me back in the face.

“But I felt like that’s what I needed to get me to the point where I’m at today and show me that everything is going to have to be earned, never given. And I never want anything given to me.”

Stevenson is willing to compete for what he earns, and his competitive edge has been on display during camp, including in a physical and chippy matchup with Claypool.

“That’s how he’s wired,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He’s wired that way and he’s a really good competitor, which I love. We knew he was going to be a good tackler and a physical corner because you could see that on tape in the evaluation. He’s just going to continue to grow.”