JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a hot morning at the Miller Electric Center as the Jaguars welcomed fans to minicamp on Wednesday as the offseason program makes its way to the finish line.
It was the only portion of the minicamp that was open to fans, and the MEC was amped up. General manager James Gladstone and edge Josh Hines-Allen spoke to fans at the beginning and end of practice, respectively. A large rookie class welcomed fans on the field at the end of the day and took time signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans.
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“It was great to have the fans,” said head coach Liam Coen. “I really appreciate them being out here today, taking the time throughout this time, knowing that it’s not probably the most entertaining all that much.”
Thursday’s mandatory minicamp session will be a lighter day, Coen said, as Jacksonville puts a bow on its offseason program.
More minicamp coverage
Receiver Dyami Brown after Wednesday’s camp
Travis Hunter on offense’s showing Wednesday
Eric Murray on being a veteran and new defense
Fans turn up on Wednesday at Miller Electric Center
Rookie Le’Quint Allen on adjusting to the NFL
News4JAGs: Defense looks sharp on Wednesday
On the field, it was another day where the defense looked sharp. In the scoreboard portion of the day — the defense earns points for pass breakups and turnovers — the offense lost to the defense. Darnell Savage, Maason Smith, Keive Rose, Rayuan Lane III and Antonio Johnson all had interceptions for the defense.
“It’s a lot of fun I think for the guys. I think it’s good for us as coaches, too. Just being in a competitive environment calling it. Liam does an unbelievable job with that, creating competitive situations every day, and our guys have done a really good job responding to that,” said defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. “Just the culture of the team, everything about competing. Liam’s created that environment in practice every day, which is awesome.”
BTJ returned after injury
Organized team activities and minicamp aren’t the most exciting things for fans to watch. Most of those days are filled with rather basic stuff as the coaching staff tries to lay the foundation for training camp. The NFL actually limits the amount teams can do and forbids contact.
Teams going in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills are often the best (and limited) times of camp. During one of those drills today, receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas went over the middle with Tyson Campbell in coverage on the play. Campbell broke the pass up but collided with Thomas in the process. Both players went to the ground, and Thomas stayed down. The groan of the crowd didn’t sound good. Thomas stayed down for roughly a minute and a half before walking inside with trainers to get checked out. A few anxious moments later, Thomas came back out on the field. He didn’t practice the rest of the day, but Coen said that he could have returned.
“Oh yeah, he’s fine. Absolutely could have gone back and played. Just bruised it a little bit,” Coen said. “Said he had a great range of motion, strength, he’s all good. So, no issues, just precautionary.”
Hunter not amused by Madden rating
One day after getting his first defensive reps in front of the media, Travis Hunter was back with the offense on Wednesday. He and the other rookies signed for fans after camp.
Hunter didn’t seem in the mood for small talk. When told that his rating for the “Madden 26” video game was a 76, Hunter didn’t seem to care.
“I’m not worried about a Madden rating right now,” he said. “I’m worried about playing football.”
When asked on if his purchase of a house in Jacksonville has made the city feel more like home, Hunter said “I didn’t buy a house yet.” The Jacksonville Daily Record reported earlier this week that Hunter had purchased a home locally.
