Sashi Brown watching Mitch Trubisky

Sashi Brown, the Browns executive vice president of football operations (left, blue coat) watches North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky warm up at the Sun Bowl on Friday.

(Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com)

EL PASO, Texas -- Sashi Brown, in a blue North Face jacket and jeans, stood with his hands in his pockets outside the back of the end zone in Sun Bowl Stadium on Friday afternoon.

His eyes glided over the rocky terrain just over the stadium walls on his first journey to this western corner of Tex ... no they didn't. He watched one thing. He watched Mitch Trubisky.

Brown, the executive vice president of football operations for the Browns, was joined by vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry on this scouting foray to take in what likely was the final college game of the North Carolina quarterback and Mentor native.

The goal was context, the ideas you can glean from every little interaction and observation beyond what film tells you. Brown spent a good deal of time in that end zone talking with North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

What did Brown see?

Trubisky in comeback mode.

He engineered a 97-yard drive that began with 1:34 to play and North Carolina trailing by eight, completing a pass to the 1-yard line after a scramble that saw him turn his back to the line of scrimmage. That sent up a touchdown. But pressure on the two-point conversion try was too much, and Stanford beat North Carolina 25-23 in the Sun Bowl, with Trubisky completing 23 of 39 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Before that, he saw Trubisky go through an extensive throwing routine during the pregame, hitting short ones over the middle and deep sideline throws and corner routes in the end zone. With a temperature of 48 degrees for the noon local time kick, Trubisky warmed up in shorts and blew into his hand before most throws.

In general, the pregame showed what he translates to the game. It's an easy bounce and awareness in the pocket that leads to natural arm strength. Trubisky works a run fake into many of his pregame throws, because a zone-read play-action fake is a UNC staple. Then he looks comfortable in the pocket, able to escape and roll out, or more often, step up or to the side within the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield.

Like Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, the player Ohio State will face in the Orange Bowl on Saturday, Trubisky is very capable of running but isn't a runner. Both Trubisky and Watson are part of the zone-read game and are comfortable with called runs, but that won't be a regular part of their NFL lives.

On one first-half scramble, Trubisky stayed in a collapsing pocket for several seconds, looking for a throw to the right. He then shook off the sack attempt of a Stanford player wrapped around his waist, and took off to his left for a 7-yard gain.

His best throw of the game was also under pressure. He slid to the right, sidestepped a defender, then planted his feet and threw a ball 40 yards on a line to a receiver Ryan Switzer, who came back to the ball along the sideline.

Trubisky shows off the NFL arm strength. 💪https://t.co/ZxmNgyePVN — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 30, 2016

Trubisky doesn't have Stafford/Carr arm strength, but enough velocity to make the necessary NFL throws with timing/placement. — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 30, 2016

There were plenty of plays that didn't work as well.

Trubisky missed a couple open receivers, including a wide-open crossing route in the third quarter that would have gained at least 20 yards. After throwing just four interceptions in 12 games, he was also picked twice, both by Stanford safety Dallas Lloyd who cut in front of the ball twice.

The first was over the middle in the first half. The second turned into a pick-six along the sideline. Trubisky was trying to look off the defense as his back released out of the backfield along the right sideline. Trubisky then threw to the right as soon as he looked that way, but Lloyd was waiting and jumped in front for the interception and 19-year return.

Trubisky misread the safeties on both of his INTs today. Obviously poor decisions. We'll see how he responds this drive. — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 30, 2016

On several plays, Trubisky seemed to be floating back and then quickly stepped into a throw, a one-step delivery coming primarily from his arm without lower body support. He still got the ball there on several 15-yard outs, but it wasn't ideal footwork. But I remember seeing from videos of questionable Carson Wentz footwork at North Dakota State last season, and the Eagles had him straightened out for the most part by the start of the regular season.

Oh, and Trubisky was inadvertently stripped of the ball by an officlal and lost a fumble.

Fumble forced by... THE UMPIRE???https://t.co/4XiwKEDEM6 — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 30, 2016

And then he brought the Tar Heels back.

Down eight, North Carolina took over at its own 3-yard line with 1:34 to play. A 44-yard completion along the sideline (deft touch) gave the Tar Heels a chance at the Stanford 28 with 1:07 left.

These were Trubisky's next three throws:

* A shot down the seam to the goalline that hit Switzer, his best receiver, in the hands and fell incomplete.

* A beautiful ball in the corner of the end zone to wide open Bug Howard, who had just caught the 44-yarder. The ball went right through his hands.

* Then on third down, Trubisky escaped pressure, spinning away from a sack, and found Switzer for a 27-yard completion to the 1-yard line.

That set up a touchdown, but the two-point try failed.

For a quarterback who entered the game averaging 298 passing yards per game, with 28 touchdowns against just those four interceptions, this wasn't Trubisky's best overall work. But the last drive showed how good his best can be.

The Browns and the seven other NFL teams on hand (including the Chicago Bears, who may be looking for a quarterback in the top five) are looking for traits, not stats.

Brown and Berry also checked out Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett in the Texas Bowl in Houston on Wednesday. Garrett may be the kind of player whose play demands he goes No. 1, if the Browns do wind up with that pick.

But in Trubisky and Watson, and bowl-less Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer, the Browns will have quarterback options. From what I've seen and heard this week, Watson and Trubisky are both true potential answers for the Browns quarterback situation.

You wouldn't have come to El Paso on Friday if you didn't think that was possible.

Not that El Paso gave anyone an answer. But it sure is an interesting question.

(poll conducted before final drive)