JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022
(On how the week has gone) “It’s been a good week, it has been a very good week. It’s been productive with the pads on this week, and we’ve been able to get quite a few things done. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, obviously, but it’s been a good week.”
(On playing time) “As a staff, we’re still working through it, however, I can tell you Trevor is not going to play. CJ Beathard, with the injury is not going to play, and really the decision for that, too, has been Trevor has been getting a lot of great looks here in practice, and we feel like he’s in a good spot. And, and so we’re going to make those decisions this afternoon, tell our team later on today, so we can prepare for the game.”
(On if he likes telling players they will not play in a preseason game) “I do, especially the quarterback position. It just kind of prepares their mind a little bit. Jake will be the starter in this game, and he’ll get a lot of time. And, and quite frankly, this first game, too, I want to see everybody play. I want to see all the guys in uniform, that dress, get snaps because it’s still evaluation time, right? We’re still evaluating our roster. And, you know, we got a lot of young guys and a lot of battles that we want to really start seeing in game situations.
(On how Jake Luton as looked in practice) He’s been doing well. He’s a student of the game, he understands the game, he can make all the throws, and he’s done well, and we continue to work with him. We get CJ in some of these practices now to get him back and see where they both are, but I’ve been pleased with Jake’s progress so far.”
(On what about QB Beathard’s injury that led him to be overly cautious) “He’s coming; he’s not there yet. Just because he’s missed so much time since the last of offseason to really move it around as a quarterback and throw, but he did some good things yesterday, and we’re going to increase some of his reps today.
(On the nature of C.J. Beathard’s injury) He can’t run. He wouldn’t be able to run. You see how these practices go, you can’t put them in a situation where he has to move, and we just want to make sure he’s 100%. I don’t want to have any setbacks now that we’re in camp.”
(On if the veterans who will not play get challenged to stay engaged) “One hundred percent. It’s part of their job in these games. I don’t care if they play a series, and they come out, they’re still going to be engaged and really help the young players and just be another set of eyes for them. I’ve been there, as a young quarterback in this
league, and you want a veteran guy that when you come off the field can kind of show you some of the things that are going on. I want our guys to do that, and because they stay engaged as well, mentally.”
(On rookie RB Snoop Conner) “It’s one day. But it was a good day. Now it’s about how can you can you stack days, back to back to back, and that’s what being a professional is all about. I like where he’s at. I like his progression right now. He’s done well with blitz protection and seeing things and catching the ball out of the
backfield. Again, these games coming up now are going to be very meaningful to him. That’s a competition battle that we’re going to really keep our eye on.”
(On if RB Travis Etienne will play) “He’s another one I’m going to keep from this game. Right now, he’s done some great things in practice, and I just want to protect him a little bit, even with the injury, still just making sure that he’s 100% healthy as we get ready for the regular season. He’s going to be a big asset to the young running backs in this game and help those guys out.”
(On if any of the 1s will play) “Yes.”
(On former Jaguars OT Tony Boselli’s Hall of Fame induction) “I’m excited for him and his family. This is a great moment in his life and to be honored as one of the top offensive linemen in our game. To be honored at the Hall of Fame, to be enshrined, to be inducted. It’s just it’s great for our organization, for the City of Jacksonville, and for him and his family, so I’m very excited for him.”
(On what it means to see Jacksonville native S LeRoy Butler going into the Hall of Fame) “A teammate of mine in Green Bay, and I’m excited for him. He had a tremendous career, what a great player, good leader of that defense and really the whole football team, and I’m excited for him and his family. These are special moments, in the lives of these athletes. Their families.”
(On if he will attend the Hall of Fame ceremony) “I will. I’ll be going back up with Trent. We’ll meet Shad up there and be there in support of Tony and his family. Then with LeRoy and Coach Vermeil and some of the others that that I know, and it’ll be good. It will be good to be there and to witness it firsthand.”
(On if he has every been to the Hall of Fame ceremony) “I’ve never been to the ceremony. This would be the first.”
(On the importance of preseason games for the coaching staff) “It’s just as important for us as it is for the players. Organization is everything and where the coordinators want to position coaches on game day, either down or up. It’s one thing with me, especially on offense, and being a play caller, and doing all that, there’s got to be some great organization and great communication. The guy’s have to be in the right spot. Guys have game day responsibilities, where their eyes are, and making sure we have all the right information between series and halftime and all of that. These are just as important to us as a staff too. It’s been a while since we’ve all done it, for me, especially. Same way on defense. Mike, being a first-time coordinator and calling defenses and again, the organization on defense and just where guys are going to be and the information that we can get.”
(On how OL Walker Little is handling the transition from left tackle to right tackle) “Good. It’s unfortunate with JT (Jawaan Taylor) missing some time right now, but it’s great for Walker to get a ton of reps, and I think he’s done really well, and you can kind of see the communication with him and Brandon there on the right side. He’s off to a good start, we just got to keep them coming and see where it ends up.”
(On the kicking situation) “Honestly, it’s still young, it’s still early in camp. In these games, we’re going to try to create some situations where there’s a little more pressure involved that put these two guys under and I think both guys will respond. It usually works itself out as camp goes. Most of the battles do, as we go, but it’ll be fun to watch them in these games and try to put them in some tough situations.”
(On his confidence in OL Luke Fortner after a tough time against veterans on Monday) “I’m not concerned with him. This guy is unbelievable. I really like where he’s at mentally. His thing is he’s just got to process it, slow it
down, slow the game down and just take one play at a time. These are such valuable reps for him. You got Brandon to the right, Tyler to the left, great communication in the middle with everything that’s going on. You know, it is kind of funny. Sometimes you hear him coming off the field and just how he responds to the defense. He’s like, ‘Man, these guys are fast, they show up quick, you know, in your face.’ He’s sliding left and coming back and he’s getting banged, but those are all things that you just work through. And he doesn’t get discouraged. We’re very encouraged by it. He’s going to be a good player.”
(On why WR Laviska Shenault Jr. was working off to the side on Monday) “There was one play yesterday during special teams. He came up and was limping a little bit and (Vice President of Player Health and Performance Jeff Ferguson) Fergie checked him out. We just kept him out of practice. We should see him today.”
(On when WR Jamal Agnew will be able to fully participate) “He’s getting close. I’m really hoping next week as we get ready for the Cleveland game, he gets some meaningful time in some of the team settings. I’m big about really protecting these guys that have these types of injuries and that making sure they’re 100% healthy before we put them out there.”
(On RB James Robinson’s increasing participation) “He’s getting closer. We’re at that part of his rehab where it’s time to kind of push through just a little bit. It’s good to see him back out there. But again, making sure that he’s 100% comfortable. We’re comfortable with the docs, really with both of those guys, before we cut them loose.”
(On his impression of DL Dawuane Smoot) “He’s having a good camp. He’s a veteran player who’s defensively been able to move around. He’s explosive, he’s quick off the ball. He’s been a really good mentor and leader to some of the young guys over there. Just a versatile player for the defensive line and really excited for him and how he can how he can help that defense in whether it’s rotational, situational, starter, all that. He’s going to be in the mix.”
(On Tre Herndon) “He’s having a good camp. I’m excited for him, too. There’s some really good competition if we get Darious Williams back out there at that nickel spot, too. There’s going to be some good competition there. Tre has been doing extremely well. He’s locked in; he’s dialed in. It’s fun to see those types of battles out there.”
(On tempers flaring up in recent practices) “You just don’t want anybody to get hurt. It’s going to happen, and it’s hot out here. The guys are working extremely hard, it happens. It’s part of camp, but at the same time, we’ve got to understand that we’re still one team, one unit. We walk off the field, we shake hands and move forward.”
JAGUARS QB JAKE LUTON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022
(On getting more experience as a starting quarterback) “I’m excited. They let me know I was going to start, and I’m just excited to be back in a Jaguars uniform and get to go out and play with the guys. I couldn’t be more fired up.”
(On what has gone well in camp so far) “I think it’s been a good camp. I think it’s been productive. I think we’ve had some good days, some hard days, but across the board and the QB room, I think we’ve minimized our mistakes. I think we’ve pushed the ball downfield, we’ve been aggressive when we’ve had to try to fit in some windows, but I just think overall, we’ve been running offense. Like I said, not a lot of mistakes. I think we’ve just got to keep that rolling.”
(On the development of the quarterback room over the past year) “I love this quarterback room. Trev and CJ are my guys. When I left, I missed them. It’s just a cool room to be around. We’re really good friends. That helps; we’re all rooting for each other, we’re all pushing each other to be the best we can be. At the end of the day, we’re buddies and it’s a lot of fun to be with them. In camp, we’re together all day long, so it helps to be around guys that you really like, and they’re awesome.”
(On his goal for the upcoming Hall of Fame Game) “I’m just want to go out there and execute. I think this camp we’ve done a lot of good things, and we’ll go out there and put our best foot forward. I just want to move the ball around, get the ball in my guy’s hands, and just help the offense be in the best position we can to just execute. Go out and score points. I think that the bottom line is just execution.”
(On what it’s like playing for Coach Doug Pederson, especially with his quarterback background) “Doug’s awesome. It’s so nice. Then having Mike too, guys that have played the position It’s just fun getting in that room, and you got so many minds that have been in that position before, with all of us playing and then the guys that are coaching, and you get a lot of fun conversations going, good ideas rolling, and everybody gets it. It’s been great so far. I love playing for this staff. It’s been awesome.”
(On Coach Doug’s Pederson’s approach and mentality) “We can definitely tell as quarterbacks, he fits in the room like a glove. Like I said, we’re just able to have good conversations, and we all see things pretty similarly, so it’s been a lot of fun.”
(On the perspective Coach Doug Pederson brings from having played in the NFL and with several other NFL greats) “Like you said, there’s a lot of great coaches that didn’t play the quarterback position, but I think as a quarterback, it’s really helpful. You’re able to kind of see things the same way, you speak the same language, they have experience doing it. Like you said, they’ve been around some great players, just hearing the stories and hearing things that those guys did in the past that made them so great and made the players around them so great. I think a quarterback that’s so vital is not only do you need to be able to execute, but you have to make
the guys around you great too. Hearing what they’ve experienced, what they’ve done in the past, and how that can help us become a better team has been awesome.”
(On if Coach Doug Pederson has a mantra he uses about playing the quarterback position) “I don’t think there’s any specific mantra that he has. Nothing that comes to mind. I think it’s just like I keep saying just the conversations that we’re able to have. I think he sees it so similarly to us that we always have good conversations afterwards, whether it’s a mistake or a good play, whatever it is, to be able to come back and see things the same way is really good.”
(On if he demands more from the quarterback position) “I think because he’s a quarterback, I think he expects us to play at a high level, and he expects us to come out every day with a lot of intensity and get the guys going. It’s just awesome to play for an ex-quarterback.”
(On RB Snoop Conner) “He’s been doing great. He’s had a great camp. I think it was yesterday, the day before. I think he had his best day of camp. He picked up some tough looks in the pass game, protection-wise. He had some great runs. It’s been fun watching him grow already in camp, and I’m excited to see what he has in store.”
(On the structure of training camp) “I think it’s been structured really well. We’re grinding like we’re getting after it. It’s long days, but I think they’re taking care of us too. Guys are fired up. I think we like coming out in the morning. I know personally I do. Get up and let’s go play football. That’s kind of how it is. I think every day the guys are pretty fired up just to get out here, and then after this, we’re able to go back and kind of mellow out a little bit, really hone in on what we did well, did bad in practice, and then we’ll go do the walkthrough stuff and, and so I think it’s structured really well. I think it’s been awesome so far.”
