Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew Continues Off-Field Preparation for 2020 in Video
2020 is obviously set to be an important season for Jacksonville Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew II, likely the most important season of his football life up to this point.
After a rookie season in which Minshew won over the support of his teammates, coaches and thousands of Jaguars fans, the young signal-caller is now entering his second season as Jacksonville's starting quarterback, giving him a chance to prove he can potentially be the long-term answer.
Minshew has been working hard at his craft all offseason to prepare for the pivotal fall, and this was evidenced again in a video posted to Instagram by performance training coach Anthony Tumbarello, who has spent extensive time working with Minshew.
(Video below, via Tumbarello's Instagram).
The Naples-based trainer has been posting videos and pictures of the workouts he has set up for Minshew all throughout the offseason, with the vast majority of drills focusing on agility and footwork. Minshew, who appears to have bulked up since his rookie season, has alluded to the importance of his work with Tumbarello in recent months.
"I’ve been trying to [improve] really every asset – bigger, faster, stronger. Really putting an emphasis on trying to figure out the best weight for me to have as much arm strength as possible, while maintaining as much speed," Minshew said in May.
"So just figuring that out, it’s been a fun process. I’ve had a lot of help from Coach Anthony Tumbarello. I’ve been training with him a lot down in South Florida. Also, I have been using Coach Milo’s [Tom Myslinski] stuff with the Jags, kind of a joint effort there, we’ve been able to get me moving in the right direction.”
“We’ve been on the same program since February, since after the Super Bowl. Lifting three days, running three days, throwing three days. It’s been a lot of fun," Minshew continued when asked about his daily workout regiment.
Minshew's performance in 2019 was arguably the best of any rookie quarterback, and it was unquestionably the best season any Jaguars rookie quarterback has ever had. In 12 starts (14 appearances) Minshew compiled a 6-6 record completed over 60% of his passes for 3,271 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions to go along with 67 carries for 344 rushing yards.
Minshew also won Rookie of the Week seven times in 2019, making him the only rookie to win it more than once last year. Minshew's pass completion percentage of 88% in Week 1 was also the highest of any player making his debut in NFL history (minimum 15 pass attempts, since at least 1950), and also the highest single-game pass completion percentage in Jaguars history.
While Minshew certainly has areas he needs to improve in, such as ball security and attacking the middle of the field, his rookie season was encouraging. The fact he has taken the challenge to improve seriously enough is likely only even more encouraging for the Jaguars brass that has bet on him for 2020.
