“It was about us going out to practice every day, nobody taking a day off,” he said. “Things didn’t go the way we wanted, but overall it was all positive. Everyone was talking positively and just trying to get better.”

“Being around Adam was great, especially because of the way he approaches the game. He comes out every day with a smile, and I would say like a little kid drinking three cups of coffee. He always had energy, and even when they didn’t want him to work out or take care of his body, he still wanted to work out. Man, I appreciated him for that. And just showing me as a freshman how he approaches the game.”

Thielen now recognizes the progress and sees a more mature player out there.

“I think it comes down to just doing your job, focusing, preparing and letting the other stuff flow,” Thielen said. “And obviously sometimes things don’t go in your favor, but I really believe that if you stick with it, be a good teammate and work hard, it pays off.

“And I think it’s going to pay off for him and a lot of other players now that he’s in year two and playing in a new system that allows him to just be himself.”

And with a mentor like Thielen by his side throughout the offseason and a trusted voice like Smith in his ear, things are now “running more smoothly” for Mingo.

He now talks about technique in a way he might not have done a year ago. He understands things like pad height or reading defenses in a way he didn’t previously.

And if that means asking tough questions in search of the “soft truth” – or not – then Mingo was ready to do so during the offseason.

The goal was to get better. Listening to one of the best seems like a small price to pay.

“You want someone to be honest with you,” Mingo said. “You don’t want someone to sugarcoat things because that doesn’t help you. And he told me the truth, and I’m grateful to him for that.”