No Preseason and Little Time Make Training Camp a Challenge for Jaguars Rookies
As the entire United States, the NFL and the Jacksonville Jaguars continue to adapt with a global pandemic and how it’s changed every day life, the group that could arguably be hurt the most are the one’s who had just gotten a tiny hold on their dreams.
The Jaguars rookie class is made up of 30 young guys; 12 drafted and 18 signed as undrafted free agents. Over the past week Jags Head Coach Doug Marrone has observed as the took to the field for initial walk-throughs and conditioning in preparation for 2020 training camp.
But without preseason games and a shell of a normal camp before the roster must be cut down, Marrone knows those that would be clawing for the last few roster spots will now be fighting the battle on an uneven field.
In the past, young UDFA's like Michael Walker (pictured) could use training camp to make an impression. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
“The challenges for these young guys are much greater than they have been in the past,” he told local reporters during a video call on Thursday.
“I told them it might not be as many reps if you had joint practices and things of that nature where you’re getting a lot of those reps and then you get reps in the preseason game. It’s not going to be necessarily that way, but I do think that you’re going to have to really spend a little bit more time about the personnel issues earlier than you would; rather than just seeing where we go, let's see how this works out. My philosophy has always been to coach them like they’re going to start for you then you put them out on the field and see which ones earn it.”
In an effort to allow them time to “earn it,” Jacksonville has kept their camp roster at 90 instead of 80 for the time being. The roster must be cut down by August 16, but until then, the extra space in the Jaguars facility allows them the room and flexibility to house more players. Knowing that, Marrone couldn’t justify losing the extra 10 players just yet.
“I think that there’s a lot of guys we spent a lot of time on whether it be scouts and coaches, and that’s why when it came down to we could get to 80 and logistically that makes things easier at least for our club. I just didn’t think we could do that.
“We’ve had success before, and I think you go around the league and there’s a lot of success with it. So I think trying to get a good evaluation of the 90 to the 80 is going to be important. Once you get to the 80, you’ll be able to put them into situations to see if they’re going to be able to help you or not.”
With all of the uncertainty and the additional protocols put into place for 2020 training camp and the upcoming season, Marrone admits he doesn’t even really consider it in the “category of training camp.” But players know that it is, at least on paper. And that means being ready for your 15 seconds to impress whenever it may come.
The NFL, NFLPA and Jaguars all helped send equipment to players if needed for offseason workouts. Now those workouts at home alone have to pay off.
“I would say in my past, 99 percent of the rookies will come in here and you really do not have to worry about them being in shape. They want to make a team.”
The rookies will move into Phase 2 next week, which is an OTA style practice with no pads. It’s all part of an extended ramp up period to the scheduled Labor Day weekend kick-off. Marrone says his past experience coaching in college (he was a position coach at several schools from 1992-2001 and head coach at Syracuse from 2009-2012) gives him more confidence in navigating an offseason without preseason games. He even pulled out his old college files when talk of no preseason began.
The question now remains, can that preparation from the head coach also help the players who need the preseason time to carve out their spot in the NFL?
Granted, most of these players are coming straight from college so they are already accustomed to an offseason such as the one they now face. But the challenge ahead of them now is still greater than any they’ve overcome before.
“I told this to the young guys, I said if you look at our league and the history of our league, this is probably going to be one of the more challenging times for a young player to make a football team. One is because of opportunities and the other is a young football player that may have some better players ahead of him, but not being able to play preseason games to get on film and maybe get picked up by another team.”
Thus far, the Jaguar rookies have been on the field four times. This means despite an entire offseason getting to know them through a computer screen, there is still a lot for coaches to learn about those they drafted, those they signed and those at whom they wanted just little bit of a closer look. It will make these next two weeks vital for everyone.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of challenges for us. I think there will be a lot of anxiety in different areas. It’s hard to pinpoint what’s going to come up next. You’re really just doing the best job you can really at the time.”
