HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER March 19, 2021 (On his assessment of the tight end position) “That was a high priority. We have two different style of tight ends, one is a ‘Y,’ which is—on the line, basically an extension of your offensive line, a very good blocker, but also very functional in the pass game. We identified the guy, had him at the top of the list and that’s [Chris] Manhertz and we got him. I’ve not met him, he’s coming in today, but I’m—we all are extremely excited about him. He was exactly what we wanted and we got him. The next one is the ‘F’ and that’s the primary pass catcher, but also a functional blocker. We have not addressed that. [James] O’Shaughnessy—two years ago, O’Shaughnessy had a very good year, showed a lot of potential. Obviously, he had an ACL injury, he’s been in here training, I’ve gotten to know him, really enjoy being around him. So, we count on him, but we have not finalized that piece of the puzzle yet. But the ‘Y’ part–we all feel extremely strong about Manhertz.” (On trading TE Josh Oliver) “I didn’t know Josh. That was our personnel side that made that decision and ran it by me before we did it and I agreed. So, I just didn’t know a lot about him, and I know he’s had some injuries since he’s been here, and we decided to make that move.” (On hitting all of their targets on the defensive side of the ball during free agency) “Well, we started—the way we went about it—and once again this is all new to me—I spent a lot of time trying to learn how to do this and I leaned on Trent [Baalke], our general manager, but also our staff, the guys with experience in the NFL. After when we first got hired, we did something called EOS, end of season, and that’s a complete thorough review, for about three weeks, on our team. They turned in their evaluations of the current roster and then the coordinators met with me and the general manager and we put needs, one through 10. And for example, need number one, need number two, need number three and that’s how we went about free agency. So, on defense, the number one need, regardless of what the statistics said, the number one need to me is always going to be [to] build your defensive front. I expect our defensive line to always be the top four—in college, I expected to be in the top 5 in America. In the NFL, I told our staff I expected to be top 4—we should keep elevating that—the top 4 in the league and we felt it wasn’t. There were some good pieces in place, and we attacked it and we’re very excited about that. What did we get? Three? I believe we got three guys in free agency. Oh, four, four defensive linemen. And so that was the places we built. I believe we’re going to be in the top 4 in the league on that defensive line.” (On what he likes about DT Malcom Brown) “Everything. I like the fact that we know him, [Jaguars Assistant Head Coach] Charlie Strong recruited him in Texas, he played for Coach Strong. We’ve had some great dialogue with people who knew him. I like the fact that he’s a family man, just a high, high character guy. And when you see his size, 320 [pounds], his bend, his athleticism, he’s been well-coached already at New Orleans. And we’re not supposed to have favorites yet, but he’s one of my favorites, I look forward to meeting him.” (On how he expects the defensive line to look) “I expect them to look really big, I mean like, big, big. I used to say that about the SEC, in college football, the defensive lines look different. So, if you look at the size of the guys we found—and [Jaguars Defensive Coordinator] Joe Cullen is a d-line guy and so is [Jaguars Defensive Line Coach] Tosh Lupoi, obviously, there’s a reason why I hired those two coaches, too. I’ve always had excellent defensive line coaches and I listen to their expertise, but I’ve also got a vision of what it’s supposed to look like. And once again, don’t put the car before the horse and expect—I know what the expectation is and that better be—I expect the defensive line to be one of the strengths of our team.” (On not being used to experiencing rejection on signing day) “Yeah I remember, I said ‘Go get him, I want that guy, go get him.’ And in recruiting, we would have our recruiting meeting to identify the best players and go get them. And then all of a sudden, I start finding out this guy costs $28 million and this guy costs—and it was really—I knew it, to say I didn’t know it, of course I knew it—but just the way you put that puzzle together about, ‘Here’s your cap space, here’s your choices, can we take him, but we get three of these guys to help?’ And so, I imagine once you build your roster exactly the way you want it, then you can take one guy and go get the $25 million athlete. We’re not in a position to do that right now, we’re just not. So, it was a learning experience and I feel great about it.” (On the wide receiver position and why they chose Marvin Jones Jr. and WR Phillip Dorsett II) “Yeah, speed is something I’ve always believed in and Phillip Dorsett answers that question. His production, you can channel it—which I will channel it, I haven’t even really met him yet, I haven’t even talked to him, I’ll see him, I believe, today. But he’s blessed with incredible physical qualities, he catches the ball well, on top of the fact, he’s [got] great speed. So, we addressed that need and we’re still not done, I don’t mind addressing that. But the one position that I’ve been pleased with and I actually—when I first started watching the Jaguars, DJ Chark [Jr.] and Laviska [Shenault Jr.] are two guys that I think you can build. They’re young, I’ve spent a lot of time with them, they’ve been in to see me, they’re anxious, they’re ready to go. I hired an excellent receiver coach in Sanjay Lal. That position is going to be a huge part of our offense and we felt—we didn’t make a run or at least look at that whole, because there’s a lot of good players out there—but once again, you start looking at the value which is a term that I’ve learned to really appreciate, value, the value player. And I think Marvin [Jones] is at an extremely high value for how we came across that. Of all the guys we signed, there were two—he’s one that my phone has blown up over the last few days from colleagues and friends that I’ve known that tell me about what kind of—not only player—but leader [that he is]. So, he’s got to be a leader in that room and Sanjay feels very strongly that he can do that. [He’s a] heck of a player, too. I mean, on video tape, I really love watching that guy play.” (On fielding trade offers for QB Gardner Minshew II) “At this point, no. At this point, I know Gardner [Minshew II] a little bit. He came in yesterday; we had a good visit. That’s the second time I spent time with him. This is all kind of new to me. I’m used to spending about five, six hours a day with our quarterback. January, February, that’s the days you get your quarterback ready to go. You can’t do that in the NFL. There’s a lot of anticipation about the first pick. I understand there’s a lot of conversation out there, but there’s been no decisions made. Gardner’s done some very good things here in Jacksonville and he’s a competitive maniac, which I really appreciate that about him. So, there’s been no decisions made. Yesterday was the first lengthy meeting we had and we’re going to continue that here for the next few weeks.” (On signing players that he has not met) “That was awful. I don’t agree with it, but no one asked my opinion. I guess [in] the old days, you could bring them in and meet them, have dinner with them and find out the football intellect, find out the character. The thing you don’t [do] I find out is call someone who has skin in the game because they’re going to not quite be, I don’t see honest as the appropriate word. So, we did a deep dive. Every guy that we signed, we did [a deep dive]. I have [Director of Player Assessment] Ryan Stamper and [Director of Player Engagement and Youth Football] Marcus Pollard. I call those guys our assessment guys. They did as much [of a] deep dive as we could. The ones like Malcom [Brown] that [Assistant Head Coach and Inside Linebackers Coach] Charlie Strong recruited and knew, we were good. Roy Robertson[-Harris], we did a deep dive into him and it came back extremely positive. To answer your question, it was awful. I don’t believe it should be that way, not when you’re making organizational decisions. I’m not sure how that rule came about, but to me, that’s not good business.” (On his resume being an advantage or disadvantage during free agency) “That never really came up. I think I heard from some players [that] they were excited about [the team] because they think we have a nice plan for winning because we have won a lot of games. But there really wasn’t a recruiting element of it. It came down to value. Are you willing to pay this kind of money for that player at a position of need? So, I didn’t feel the recruiting element. I was ready to. I had my recruiting stuff ready to go, but it didn’t really come down to that. It came down to are you going to pay the player and get in the game? I was hoping to get some former players, but it didn’t work. Carlos [Hyde], I got. I’m trying to think. We went after a couple other ones or at least thought [of going after them], but once again, you start talking about value. So, that didn’t really play a big role.” (On how creating a winning record will help them in free agency down the road) “I think that, a new facility, the Jaguar emblem, that’s going to be a big part if we can make that mean something and very powerful, which that’s our goal. The fact that Jacksonville [has that opportunity], as talking to a lot of the players, that was very appealing to them. Once again, I’m dealing with state [taxes]. The tax situation has become a big topic of conversation. In my 35 years prior, I can’t remember ever talking about the tax situation with potential prospects in recruiting; that didn’t exactly come up. That came up a lot, so there’s a lot of benefits. I have very strong feelings about the 904 and Jacksonville, Duval County. I want to make this a destination. We all want to make this a destination place and I think we can.” (On signing DE/OLB Jihad Ward) “I did very little homework on him because [Defensive Coordinator] Joe Cullen [knew him]. From the first day I met Joe, and in his interview, we were watching film, he pointed him out several times. He’s exactly the kind of person that we look for in the culture. Joe Cullen, who I’ve known forever, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a coach pound the table as hard for a guy. He wanted him to be part of our organization. That’s why we did it.” (On CB Shaquill Griffin and adding to CB CJ Henderson at the cornerback position) “Sidney Jones [IV] as well, so we have three guys that we feel are [great]. One was a second rounder [CB Sidney Jones IV], but obviously Shaq[uill Griffin], we feel very strong about. CJ has gone through his labrum surgery and he’s doing very well. The good thing about those three, if they play like we expect, Tre Herndon is another guy that has done some very good things here. I really like his competitiveness. He’s working really hard. Those four players to me, if you can have two guys that can play man coverage and you can go inside like we did at Ohio State when we had [Ohio State CB] Shaun Wade there, if your third player can play man coverage, that’s exactly where you need to be. So, I really like where we’re at with the four corners and that was obviously after d-line, that’s right where we went was to go fix the corner position.” (On adding a pass rusher in DE Roy Robertson-Harris) “He’s a giant. He’s here, I spent time with him yesterday and [I] feel very strong about him. Obviously, he was high on the list and when you talk about value, which in the process we use, we assign value to players as we watched them, as we ranked for the last over a month, and he came in at an extremely high value for his potential, the fact that we still feel his best football is ahead of him, the quality of person and work ethic that he has, and the coaching he’s going to receive. So, that was once again, he was at the top or near the top of our list on the value-based players and a big get, critical get.” (On adding S Rayshawn Jenkins to the secondary) “Him and Shaq[uill Griffin] grew up together. They’re Florida guys. They were dying to get back here. But I talked to, I know some players on the Chargers team, and I wanted to really do my deep due diligence because that’s the third position that needs immediate help, and he checked all the boxes. There were about two or three safeties that we were knee deep in and we were ecstatic to get him.” (On if he remembered recruiting S Rayshawn Jenkins and CB Shaquill Griffin out of high school) “No, I do not. I don’t remember them. One was a Central Florida, one ended up in Miami. [Former UF player] Louis Murphy helped me though. He helped me with these guys, just what kind of players they are, what kind of people. Louis Murphy might be coming down here to help us out a little bit too. He feels very strong about the quality of football in the St. Pete area obviously, so he was a cheerleader more than anything, but he did help.” (On DE Roy Robertson-Harris’s son, Jax) “I met Jax, great dude, and he’s a guy we’ll go after in about 20 years.” (On K Aldrick Rosas and K Josh Lambo) “He had some injuries, struggled a little bit, but [Josh] Lambo’s got a great history around here as far as execution and accuracy and competition brings out the best. [Special Teams Coordinator] Brian Schneider feels very strongly about [Aldrick] Rosas too. I talked to him on the phone, I have not met him yet, but look forward to spending time with him as well. I think he has a great history as well. I look forward to watching that one develop.” JAGUARS DEFENSIVE TACKLE MALCOM BROWN March 19, 2021 (On his reaction of being reunited with Coach Charlie Strong) “I was excited. I know how he coaches and what he’s about. It’s just this energy level that he brings. It just brought back flashbacks of college and how we were, and I got very excited once I heard that and just to see him again.” (On the process of ending up in Jacksonville and his reaction) “Like I said, I was ecstatic about coming here with the direction the program is going, but the process was like—once I heard about me being traded, or potentially cut, I kind of just focused on working out and things like that. Because the first time I went through free agency, I kind of sat there and worried about everything, what’s going to happen and this and that, and I just kind of worried myself to death. So, I just kind of worked out, stuck to the family, just kept my mind busy all day and then whatever happened after that, would happen.” (On starting something different and new in Jacksonville versus an established defense in New Orleans) “Man, it’s just—I mean, everybody’s got to come in, got to work hard. It’s not a real big difference. We’ve just got to come in and, like I said, work hard. Everybody’s got to contribute and just come out there and go [hard] every play and just leave it out there.” (On building the team around the defensive line) “Being in this league for a while, you hear that a lot and it’s very true. The big guys set the tone of the game. Everybody goes off of those guys, whether it’s offensive line or defensive line, they start it all. Offensive line has got to block for the run, block for the pass. Defense has got to go through the offensive line and go stop them. We always make contact first, so we just—it feels good that we’re building something strong on the defensive line and I just hope we continue to grow and get better together.” (On what he learned from coaches at the Patriots and Saints that he hopes to bring to Jacksonville) “Like you said that Coach [Urban] Meyer said, it starts at the line and I take that to heart. Being like a nose in this league, I’m always making contact first. Some of the most physical blocks happen in that position, so we’ve just got to come in and work hard at it. I mean, that’s all it is. From program, to program, to program, that’s all it’s been, is that it starts right there, make contact first and everything happens right there.” (On coming to Jacksonville) “Like I said, I was ecstatic. I heard what coaches were here and what direction they were going in and like I said, I was happy. I already knew the situation I was in over in New Orleans, I already knew they had to get under cap space, I already knew it was over. So, I mean, just doing that, keeping that mind. I just wanted to attack the offseason, wherever I’m going to be, I’ll be the best version of me. Like I said, when the trade happened, I was on the phone, I was happy, I was running around the house. It doesn’t matter where the program was last year, it’s about what we do next year.” (On meetings with the coaches including Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer) “I mean, it’s good, man. Getting to know his mindset, his philosophy on things, how he thinks about things. It really gives you a clear picture of what he wants to put out or create from this program. So, hearing him talk about that, just even more got me more excited about the whole process and where we’re going forward. Those conversations have been going good. And d-line, he thinks that much of the d-line—that also made me happy.” (On whether conversations with Coach Meyer felt like a recruiting pitch) “No, definitely not. I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily say that because I’m already here now, we already made the trade and everything. [There isn’t] anything to pitch for me right now, I’m already here, I already signed up and everything, so it was more so, like I said, just getting to know him and the philosophy that he comes with, the things that he’s trying to bring to the team and the direction that he’s trying to go with what he’s trying to do. So, that’s what we really talked about and stuff like that.” JAGUARS TIGHT END CHRIS MANHERTZ March 19, 2021 (On what drove his career from basketball to professional football and whether it was simply a phone call from the Buffalo Bills) “Yeah, that was single-handedly probably the only reason that really opened my eyes to the opportunity to even explore this. And I think it’s safe to say it’s probably one of the better decisions I ever made, but if it wasn’t for that, I had my mind set on playing basketball.” (On why he didn’t play football before) “I just was never interested. I was so engulfed in basketball and the success I had with it, I figured that was just going to be something that I was just going to ride the wave on.” (On what kind of player the Jaguars are getting with him) “I think the Jaguars are getting a hard worker first and foremost, somebody that’s going to come in here, put his head down and work and try to get better every single day. And I think that mindset has been had by me since I started this journey, and I don’t plan on changing that.” (On who has had the most influence on teaching him how to play the tight end position) “I would have to give the credit to all the coaches, especially tight end coaches, that I’ve come across since playing; Dan Campbell, Pete Hainer, Brian Angelichio, Tony Sparano, all those guys had a huge part in developing me and giving me a chance. And also, just the organizations involved with having the patience of taking a guy that never had played the sport and giving him a shot.” (On fitting into Coach Urban Meyer’s plan for the tight end room and their recruiting pitch for him) “It wasn’t really much of a recruiting pitch. I do know the type of coach that Urban Meyer is and the success that he’s had in the past and it’s very exciting to be a part of that. Knowing that with this organization, everybody is fresh, it’s a fresh start for everybody and I can’t wait to lay the foundation and build on something good here.” (On what sold him on coming to Jacksonville) “[It was] just the opportunity, the opportunity in it of itself. By no means was it an easy decision as I had a few options on the table. [It was] just knowing the pedigree and the mentality and speaking to [Head] Coach Urban Meyer earlier. For me, it just feels like the right fit. It’s a great group of people, great group of coaches, and I’m just excited to get things started here.” (On what he brings as a tight end) “I think I have a lot to bring to the table outside of being a blocker and it’s just a matter of just getting the opportunity and taking advantage of that opportunity. Again, I’m just excited to get that chance and prove myself right and go forward from there.” (On starting football later in life) “At the conclusion of my senior year in college, somebody from the Buffalo Bills kind of reached out and invited me to kick the tires in and for a pro day type workout to see what we could do from there. [It] definitely wasn’t something that I foresaw happening or much less I had in the plans, but it was one of those opportunities that I figured why not. Not too many times do you really have opportunities to really do something like that and for somebody like myself at the time, I figured that I had nothing to lose.” (On if he is still learning the game of football) “I think I’m always going to be learning and I feel like if I’m not learning something new along the process every year, day in and day out, that’s another story. But I feel like throughout the course of the several years that I’ve definitely learned something more every year and I’m hungry. I’m a sponge to everything and I just can’t wait to hear the knowledge that this coaching staff and [Head] Coach [Urban] Meyer and everybody that’s involved with it [has] for me to maximize my potential.” JAGUARS DE/OLB JIHAD WARD March 19, 2021 (On how his past has made him appreciate where he is today) “I’ve praised it every time throughout my whole past, catching the bus, boat, and the train. That stuff, it was a struggle, but I thank God that it hit my way. Everybody deals with adversity in life. If you think your life is good, you’re going to hit adversity every time. I don’t sit around here and tell people I did this throughout my life, it just made me stronger mentally. I just thank God for that one.” (On which mode of transportation was the worst from Philadelphia to the Globe Institute of Technology) “All of them. No, I had not [taken a ferry before], that was my first time when I was in JUCO. That was my first time ever catching a ferry.” (On his relationship with Defensive Coordinator Joe Cullen) “I would say Joe Cullen, a.k.a. that’s my O.G. I would say that’s my dog right there. But me and Joe Cullen, we go way back and it’s a strong connection back there with me and him when he was getting me right for the combine. He worked me out every time. It’s just some stuff that’s just really not explainable. He’s just a good guy to me. I trust him. I give my all to that guy because he always gives his all to me, so that’s my dog.” (On if the pieces are in place for this team to have a great defense) “I believe that we have good players here and stuff like that. We had a good defense in Baltimore. So, I’m not saying we’re trying to fill in some pieces, we just have to solve the problem. We have Roy [Robertson-Harris], I saw him earlier. We have a couple players. We have my former player that I went to Illinois with, Dawuane Smoot. It’s just a lot of people that I know that we just need to come together. It’s all about brotherhood at the end of the day.” (On what is expected of him on the defense) “My role is just being me, Jihad Ward. It’s not really explainable on that one. I’m not going to sit here and be the person [who says], ‘I’m this, I’m that.’ It goes within. Everybody knows how I am, and you’ll see. You will definitely see what Jihad is made for.” (On his conversations with former Illinois teammate, Dawuane Smoot, when he knew he was coming to Jacksonville) “When he found out, he called me, he FaceTimed me. He was just saying, ‘Yeah, man, you already know what it is.’ I was actually on vacation at the time when everything was up to par. So, when I got the information that I was heading down there, I was excited myself, but he was the first person that called me, and he was just excited. He called [Defensive Coordinator] Joe Cullen and he called the rest of the staff and he was just excited. He was really amped up. I don’t even know. He was screaming. I don’t know what the hell was going on, but he was just excited, so that’s my dog.” (On playing with DE Dawuane Smoot in college) “We almost beat Ohio State. I know [Head] Coach Urban Meyer always says, ‘We always whoop y’all’s asses every time’, but you know, I say, ‘We almost had you. 2016, we almost had you.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, that wasn’t going to cut it until Ezekiel Elliott started running the ball’ and stuff like that. But we talked about it earlier, I said, ‘We almost had you.’ He’s like, ‘No, you didn’t.’ But then again, he knew that our d-line was something special. All he saw was big [number] 17 running to the ball and trying to put pressure to the quarterback. So, it was a good moment when I saw him today because he already knew I was going to say something to him about that.” (On building the team around the defensive line) “As a defensive lineman, it always starts upfront, but the main thing is, like I said again, is about brotherhood as the d-line. We have to rush, we have to have good communication with our rushes and also dominate in the front, setting the edge, setting the vertical edge, and basically getting vertical and stuff like that. Once we have good connections right there, I think we have a dominant d-line as I look at this roster that we have going on. I feel like I’m so excited about this whole group of men that we have coming on board, like it’s nothing to really explain. I’m not going to sit here and be happy about it now, it’s inside me. You know me, I’m just excited and I’m ready to go.” (On what he liked about Jacksonville) “What made Jacksonville for me, pretty sure everybody knew when I was in Baltimore, I just wanted to…. The last season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was a [difficult] season, but I’m here to change that. I want to be a part of that change. A lot of people, when you deal with free agency, they want to deal with the winning teams that get a Super Bowl ring and all that stuff. But some people don’t realize when you go to teams, some people change, and some people do it the easy way out. I want to challenge myself. I want to be a part of this organization and I want to see the moment. Everybody wants to think Jacksonville is going to be an easy win. No, when you go up against Jacksonville, you better think twice. Watch your mouth when you come to us. That’s how you have to bring it to the table. I really don’t speak much and all that stuff. You’ll see.” (On if Head Coach Urban Meyer was a draw to come to Jacksonville) “Yeah, most definitely. When I heard about [Head Coach] Urban Meyer as being the head coach, I thought I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to be around [him]. He’s been around. He has history. I was talking to him upstairs. He just has so much good history around. I know him from his success, I want to know the culture. It’s a difference. So, long story short, he always preaches it’s all about the players every time. Once you have a group of men that trust one another and can build, I want to see that. It’s so special and I’m glad I saw him today, so it was a good thing. It was a good feeling to see him again and again and again in Big Ten.” (On speaking with former Jaguar and teammate in Baltimore, Calais Campbell) “Coming to here? I haven’t talked to Calais [Campbell]. I have not talked to Calais, but I’m pretty sure that he knows about it. He’s probably been talking to other teammates and all that stuff. I forgot to text him. I will text him too, even though he talks too much. I know his whole acting and all that stuff. We’ll get to that soon. I have a lot of stuff to talk about Calais. That’s the OG, we go way back in Baltimore. We have history, all the funny moments that we had in Baltimore, so I have a lot of stuff to talk about Calais.” (On being part of the rebuilding process in Jacksonville) “It’s a fresh start. I would say it’s a fresh start, but it’s really not fresh to me because it’s like, what’s next? Once I did what I had to do in Baltimore, I’m trying to get my own self going on, a new lane if that makes sense. So, it’s not about really me for real, for real. I’m going to be honest with y’all. I’m really worried about the team. I’m really worried about my brothers that I’m just meeting, so that’s more importantly what I’m focusing on. It’s bigger than me and I’ve been carrying that ever since. Every time you ask me questions about me, I’m going to mention all of us. That’s the type of person I am. So, it’s not really a fresh start. I guess that answer that you’re looking for, for a fresh start, is what we have to do instead of just me.” |
