LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The first-team offense struggled to get lined up right in an 11-on-11 drill, to the point that quarterback Caleb Williams moved his hand in a circle suggesting they re-huddle. Again.

That unit never got the chance. Head coach/offensive play caller Ben Johnson had seen enough following some missteps, sent his presumptive starters right off the field and replaced them with the second unit.

Cole Kmet was, for one, not surprised.

No, not at all,” the veteran tight end said. “I think that’s on par for how Ben is.”

Firey. Intense. Passionate about the details.

Even on the Wednesday, the first day of full-squad Bears training camp practices. There was no excuse for not getting lined up right. Kmet couldn’t repeat the messaging.

“I think I was a little exhausted so all I heard was a little bit of yelling and I knew that obviously things weren’t going well there the last few plays,” Kmet said in his Wednesday press conference. “That’s on par for Ben. If you’re not doing it right, he’s gonna get you out and he’s not going to just see that stuff continue.

“It’s just a lesson to us that you gotta be on the details. We‘ve gotta be on the details going into practice and we’re going to get our reps in. Because you know unfortunately when that type of stuff happens, we’ve got guys now missing out on reps and those are opportunities for guys to make a team or whatever. All the reps are important. All of it matters.”

That’s the hard coaching Bears players were begging for last year and are getting now. Proof of that’s in the little things, especially right now. Players are being evaluated on the techniques and details of a play over the result of it. That’s being worked on each rep, with nothing being let slide.

“No detail goes unnoticed,” Kmet said. “Despite the result that might happen, you may catch a ball and it might be a big play in practice but he’s harping on the detail of your alignment is off or your steps are off here and even though we got the result right, we didn’t do it the right way at times.

“Those are the details you need to hear, and you can’t be result-driven all the time, especially this time of the year in training camp. You’ve really got to be detail-driven. Ben is all about the details and you feel that in every meeting.”

Johnson isn’t the only one focused on testing his players. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had his group doing up-downs during a break in their practice activity, an old-school workout in the heat, designed to strain his guys mentally and physically. Allen did so for a purpose, to get his players ready for tough times ahead.

“It’s all part of building the culture, of what type of defense we’re going to be.,” Allen said. “You have to pay the toll. You have to pay the price. It’s a privilege to be on this defense. We’ve been doing that on every defense that I’ve been associated with since 2009. And it’s a way to mentally train players to be tough and push through adversity.

“Training camp is going to be difficult, and we have to be able to overcome when we’re tired. How to do we focus? How to we concentrate? How do we dig down deep inside, rise up and make plays in critical situations of the game? A lot of times, that comes with being tired. So, it’s all part of – as much as it’s about training them physically, it’s about training them mentally.”

The Bears are being coached hard. They’re being told that camp will be a strain, but they’re also being told the ‘why’ of this particular style.

Loveland, Jones easing back in

Rookie tight end Colston Loveland and veteran left tackle Braxton Jones returned to practice Wednesday, as GM Ryan Poles said they would. They’re being ramped up, with little active participation from either player.

Loveland was suited up for practice but mostly worked on the side, running routes against air. He was not seen in team drills at all.

Jones lined up with the first unit when it wasn’t facing a defense, but that was about it. Rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo was the first unit left tackle for the rest of practice, with Kiran Amegadjie on the second team as part of a left tackle position battle. Those two alternated days with the first group during the spring, and that could continue until Jones gets rolling.

Tremaine Edmunds’ solid start

Interior linebacker Tremaine Edmunds intercepted Williams on the first 11-on-11 play of the first Bears training camp practice. It was handed to him, but Edmunds still had to catch it, and it launched a defensive-driven day common at the start of NFL camps.

Edmunds has performed well to this point under Allen’s defense, and his skill set seems ideally suited for this scheme. Allen agrees and sees a big year ahead for the Bear’s man in the middle.

“I’m anticipating him being an exceptional playmaker for us,” Allen said. “He’s got size. He’s got range. He’s got speed, a lot of the things we’re going to look for in terms of – look, it’s hard to throw over him. He’s got length in the middle of the field. I’m excited to see what he can do. That was a good start but, you know, we have a long way to go.”

Catch of the day

It came from undrafted rookie wide receiver JP Richardson, who caught a deep shot from Tyson Bagent while draped in coverage. He jumped up, caught the ball one-handed while spinning and survived the ground. He also made a nice grab on a crossing route for the last play of practice.

Roschon Johnson might’ve been the runner-up, with a one-handed catch in traffic that he then turned upfield. No one can tackle or has pads on right now, but the downfield blocking was well executed to set up significant yards after the catch.

Injury updates

Rookie receiver Luther Burden did not participate on Wednesday and hasn’t since rookie minicamp in early May. That constitutes a surprise, considering how confident Johnson was that Burden would be ready for the start of camp. Burden’s ailment has been characterized as a soft-tissue injury and nothing more to this point. Johnson will speak early on Thursday morning to clarify Burden’s issue.

Fifth-round cornerback Zah Frazier also missed practice for an unknown reason.

Jaylon Johnson missed practice while on the NFI list, dealing with a leg injury. Allen wasn’t too concerned about it, though practice reps are key while learning a new scheme.

“He’s a consummate professional, so I feel good about him being ready when his body’s ready to go,” Allen said. “So, from that standpoint, not a ton of concern there. And I think, really, for us, our focus has to be on the guys that we have out here right now. We’re going to work on coaching the hell out of them and getting those guys better. Sometimes you have to face some adversity and how you overcome that. We’ll get a good opportunity to see who wants to step up in his absence.”

Nahshon Wright has been the primary first-team fill-in dating back to minicamp, when Johnson was given some excused absences.