By Don Coble, Jax Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsday.com) – While there was no heavy grounding and pounding, the Jaguars were happy to get a little more physical in full pads on Day 5 of training camp.
A pesky spritz of rain Tuesday morning didn’t dampen the mood as players ramped up their contact to 75%.
“We did, obviously, one-on-ones for the first time today with the pads on,” head coach Liam Coen said. “I thought those guys did a nice job of getting some work in while protecting each other. I thought we got some good quality work. “[It was] good to see some of those guys make some plays one-on-one in those situations. Have to go back and look at the protection, but it felt somewhat clean. That’ll ramp up more. We’ll continue to get more of that good-on-good work, as we get the pads on and are in pads more consistently.”
The 90-minute session included one-on-one work, group drills by positions and an 11-on-11 period that highlighted the team’s emphasis on the running game.
Players weren’t allowed to tackle, but they were clearly more aggressive than the first four days in shorts, jerseys and helmets.
After finishing 13-4 and winning the AFC South a year ago, Coen said there’s a new focus at camp on details. He presented the offense with different defensive looks to see how they reacted. For the most part, he was pleased about their adjustments.
“Last year when we scripted practices, I would just script the offense, Campy [Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile] would script the defense and just roll the ball out and go play,” Coen said. “I think this training camp, we’ve been much more intentional about making sure that we, offensively, especially with the 1-O [first team offense] versus maybe 2-D [second team defense], me asking for some specific fronts, getting the runs off of where we would have the intent to do that, right? And so, you’re not just walking out days one-through-four and running a run that you would never run against, maybe that look.”
When the rain started midway into the session, Coen decided to keep most of the players outside instead of huddling in the sanctuary of the Miller Electric Center indoor field. But one-on-ones with the receivers moved inside to make sure nobody slipped while making cuts.
“It’s football, right? It has to be an edge for us here in Florida,” Coen said. “Now with some of the other – the one-on-one pass game, that would’ve been a waste of time to do out here. So, we wanted to make sure we got clean work in there. It was some good work.
“These guys, they don’t care, right? They want to just play, and they’d prefer to stay outside on the grass than go inside. You’re concerned, you’re just, hey, anchoring, guys anchoring and slipping out, whatever. But it’s football. I mean, stuff happens.”
After being excluded for team drills ding the first four practices, free agent running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. participated in individual and team drills. Jacksonville has been deliberate getting him back to speed after hurting his foot that required surgery during the offseason.
Rodriguez signed after Travis Etienne left for New Orleans in free agency. While no hard hitting was allowed, the fifth-year pro turned heads when he barreled hard into safety Caleb Ransaw.
“It was just one of those hits. And, yeah, he [Rodriguez] showed up, which is kind of what you’re hoping. I think he was feeling better. He’s continuously getting better, and we’re just trying to be smart with getting him to work, getting him acclimated while not trying to aggravate it, knowing that we’re so early on. And I know he was excited about getting the pads on.”
The Jaguars will be back on the field on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The players will take Wednesday off, then practice four consecutive days.
Quotable:
Safety Jourdan Lewis was moved from corner after suffering a season-ending foot injury that kept him out of offseason workouts. When asked how Jacksonville jumped from 19 takeaways in 2024 to 37 a season ago, Lewis said: “That’s being coached. We’re being coached to take the ball away – high-pointing the ball, making sure that the receiver can’t make a catch, make a play on the ball in the air. We’ve been coached to do that.”
Short yardage:
• Punter Logan Cooke was impressive during punt team drills on Monday, landing more than a dozen kicks inside the 11-yard line, including one for 66 yards that was caught on the 2.
• Two-way star Travis Hunter was at full speed, rotating between seven defensive plays and six on offense. He was targeted once without a catch on six offensive plays or made a play on seven plays on defense.
• The best catch was a one-handed grab by Brian Thomas Jr. On a 27-yard throw down the right sideliine.
The Jaguars have placed OL Trystan Colon on the Reserve/Retired List.
Up next:
• The Jaguars will be back on the field in full pads at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The public can attend, but they must claim a free pass in advance from Tickemaster through jaguars.com/trainingcamp/. They can also register for an autograph pass after the workout.
