CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A 23-year-old undrafted free agent led the Chicago Bears to an unexpected win against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday.

But who is the rookie that is making headlines across the nation and taking the NFL by storm?

Before Sunday, the last time Tyson Bagent played organized football was last December against the Division 2 Colorado School of Mines where he threw two interceptions and was sacked eight times.

Fast forward about 11 months, and the 23-year-old found himself leading the team to its second win this season.

Bagent, who played Division 2 football at Shepherd University, made history as the first D-2 quarterback to start an NFL game in 13 years, and the first Bears quarterback to win his debut as a starter in almost two decades.

But his college coach, Ernie McCook, was not surprised with what he saw on Sunday.

“Just watching him operate, it was just like we’ve been watching him for the last five years — how he does handle himself as a football player in our program and just doing it on the biggest stage there is,” McCook said.

McCook said he was extremely proud of Bagent’s performance.

Bagent grew up in a small town in West Virginia and led his high school team to back-to-back state championships. But as a zero-star recruit with no big-name offers, he decided to stay close to home and play for his parents’ alma mater: Shepherd University. 

“His family is everything to him,” McCook said. “His family has so much love for each other, it’s a hard thing for him to leave. So we gave him an opportunity to play college football and do the thing that he loves to do which is play the game in his hometown and around his family and friends.”

The rookie quarterback earned accolade after accolade in his college career, even setting the new NCAA record for most passing touchdowns of all time with 159. His record-breaking resume earned him a spot in the Senior Bowl, which is extremely rare for a D-2 player. That’s where he was coached by the Bears’ now-offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

“I feel like I’ve played a million games at quarterback. I was able to win the job in high school my sophomore year and started every game through my senior year in college. That’s seven years of starting and understanding what the week of preparation looks like,” Bagent said.

After signing with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, Bagent rose through the Bears depth chart, unseating P.J. Walker for the second quarterback spot.

When Bears starter Justin Fields went down with a thumb injury, it was Bagent’s time to step up.

“Where I come from, I’ve got a bunch of friends, a bunch of family that understood how big this was. Just really, just in life. Not a lot of people get to say they started an NFL game, let alone win an NFL game,” Bagent said.

“I think Chicago is very luck to have him and I think he’s going to you know, he’s going to do everything he can do to give the Bears every chance to win,” McCook said.

Bagent will make a start this upcoming Sunday on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.