More than 60 players took the field for the start of the Jaguars' annual rookie minicamp on Friday. The goal of the three-day event (May 11-13) is to allow the dozens of young players to adapt to the methods of an NFL practice prior to the start of organized team activities (OTAs), which begin on May 22.
"We're not in full pads, we're not tackling, we're not doing things of that nature, so it's very difficult to get an evaluation [of the players]," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said after the first practice.
"I'll say this, the one thing I did see from the group as a whole is - obviously it's very hot out there - but I didn't see anyone that was out of shape or not prepared. I thought they were trying to listen to direction, do exactly what we wanted them to do, which is one of the things we evaluate, and they did a nice job from that standpoint. We'll give them a little bit of a break now and we'll go back this afternoon and give them a little more football-related movement drills and some schematic work to see where they are from there."
First-round defensive tackle Taven Bryan was the most notable player in attendance at the minicamp. Despite his draft pedigree, Bryan said he felt like he was on even ground with his new teammates.
"It's the same thing every time you come in and you're new, everybody starts at Level 1 again," Bryan said. "You've got to work your way up and it's the same thing over again. It's the same thing in high school, same thing in college. You always start at the bottom."
Second-round wide receiver DJ Chark said the hot weather stood out during the team's first practice at rookie minicamp.
"You can never adjust to that heat," Chark said. "Once you're in it for a while, then you get used to it but once you come from running inside at LSU in the indoor [facility] and come outside, it's an adjustment."
Marrone and his coaching staff will pay close attention to each individual player, despite the large attendance numbers. The team doesn't want to risk losing out on a talented player who could potentially slip through the cracks during the weekend.
"We cannot afford to have someone walk away from this camp who can help us as a football player," Marrone said. "That would be the worst. That's like taboo. That's the worst mistake you can make. If we feel someone on this field can help us get better, we need to bring him in and replace or whatever we have to do to get him [on the roster]."
More News and Notes
- The Jaguars previously announced the team would sign 13 undrafted free agents following last month's NFL Draft but only a dozen actually signed contracts on Friday. NC State guard Tony Adams did not pass his rookie minicamp physical, so he was unable to sign with the team, a league source told First Coast News on Thursday.
The Jaguars roster is set at 88 players as of the first day of rookie minicamp. The team is allowed to house 90 players on their offseason roster.
Jacksonville's front office is evaluating 40 tryouts players, so at least two of those participants could be signed to contracts following the weekend workout.
- Chark and seventh-round punter Logan Cooke have a history that extends beyond SEC battles between LSU and Mississippi State.
"Actually, the punter, Logan, me and him played in the same all-star game coming out of high school," Chark said. "We [weren't] Under Armor All-Americans, but we still played in the game together and he went to Mississippi State so we stayed in contact."
- To give you an idea of how quickly the rookie minicamp came together, here's Bryan's response to when he was asked to name his roommate for the weekend: "I'll get back to you on that. I just met him last night."
- Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, defensive tackle Malik Jackson, defensive end Carroll Phillips and right tackle Jermey Parnell made an appearance during Friday's activities. Chark was able to speak with Fournette for a moment during practice.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.