Quarterbacks coach DeBerg praises Grossman.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: David Haugh

CHICAGO _ After the first couple of quarterback tutoring sessions in Tampa, teacher Steve DeBerg wasn't sure if his newest pupil's last name was Grossman or Grabowski.

The kid worked like a fiend, soaking through T-shirts, sweating every detail.

One of the perceived knocks against Rex Grossman before the Bears picked him in the first round of the NFL draft was that he was more blue-blood than blue-collar. One publication started Grossman's personal bio with the phrase "comes from an affluent family," and it wasn't People magazine.

DeBerg, who coached Grossman last winter at his quarterback school in Florida, had a different first impression. He didn't see a kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth; he saw a kid willing to get dirt under his fingernails.

"Rex is the hardest worker I've ever worked with, and I mean that," DeBerg said. "I heard some comments before the draft that questioned his work habits. I have no idea where that came from, because nothing could be further from the truth."

The truth according to DeBerg: Grossman has what it takes to be an NFL starting quarterback "for a long time." A friend of Bears general manager Jerry Angelo from their days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DeBerg made that opinion known to the organization before the draft.