JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jaguars QB Mac Jones pushed apart the large pink ball, ran by two staffers attempting to hit him with pads, slipped by means of two extra holding padded sticks attempting to poke the soccer free, and did a entrance flip onto a large blue pad to complete the ball safety drill at a latest coaching camp observe.
However he wasn’t completed, not less than till he popped again up and did a fast dance.
That was simply one of many many lighthearted moments Jones has had in his 5 months with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The change in surroundings from leaving New England after three years and coming again to his hometown Jacksonville has re-energized him and allowed his character to emerge.
The outcome: He is having fun with enjoying soccer extra now than he has in a very long time.
“I believe it has been actually laid again right here, however very organized,” Jones mentioned. “And after I went to Alabama, you are a freshman, you are younger, and then you definately form of develop into your individual participant. So I really feel like that is a correlation. Clearly, the services listed below are superb and the coaches and the group right here, they do every part A to Z, so I really feel like that is extra my vibe and I do really feel like I am having enjoyable once more.
“Clearly profitable is enjoyable. So hopefully we will do a few of that, too.”
The New England Patriots drafted Jones fifteenth total in 2021. As a rookie he led the Patriots to the playoffs and was a Professional Bowl alternate, however his profession there derailed. After an ankle harm, a revolving door of offensive coordinators and Invoice Belichick’s choice to rent longtime defensive coach Matt Patricia because the playcaller, Jones was now not proving to be their franchise QB. The Patriots traded Jones to the Jaguars for a 2024 sixth-round choose in March, bringing him in to compete with C.J. Beathard to be Trevor Lawrence’s backup.
From the beginning, the Jaguars have been getting a personality-filled Jones.
In his introductory information convention along with his new crew, Jones joked that he did not have an excessive amount of time to speak as a result of his mother was selecting him up from the ability in half-hour. Throughout OTAs, he completed the ball safety drill with a dance that would have resembled the Dougie. He has continued to be playful and open on the sphere in coaching camp — ending a ball safety drill by rolling the soccer like a bowling ball and throwing a soccer into the stands after he “scrambled” for a landing.
“I imply, truthfully, we had an awesome observe after that, so I felt prefer it brings vitality to the stadium, brings vitality to the blokes on our crew, and everybody loves it,” Jones mentioned. “They’re like, ‘Preserve doing it’. So I believe they take pleasure in it. Perhaps in some locations it is frowned upon, however I will have enjoyable with it and that is what I do. And on the finish of the day, that is what the game’s about. I do know it is a enterprise and it is laborious and there is a number of ups and downs, but when I’ve enjoyable on the observe subject, I can carry that over to the sport days.”
Within the Jaguars first preseason recreation, Jones accomplished 9-of-11 passes for 98 yards within the 26-13 victory over Kansas Metropolis. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor mentioned he is been impressed with Jones’ development within the offense within the quick period of time he is been right here.
“He is a sponge,” Taylor mentioned. “He loves studying soccer, speaking soccer. You see his expertise. All of the ideas we run he is run in some unspecified time in the future in time. A few of it’s translating and then you definately strive as shortly as you’ll be able to to get away from the outdated language you might have. … He is completed that.”
Head coach Doug Pederson mentioned Jones has seamlessly match into the locker room and may inform Jones feels comfy and relaxed. One of the simplest ways to explain it?
“He is eccentric,” Pederson joked. “He could be a little quirky at occasions. You see him on the sphere doing a little various things, however that is the enjoyment and the enjoyable I believe that he wished to get again to slightly bit, and he is completed an awesome job for us.”
No one appears to be having extra enjoyable with Jones than Taylor. When Taylor was utilizing a padded stick in a ball safety drill, he poked on the ball when Lawrence and Beathard got here by means of. When he acquired to Jones, although, he — effectively, Jones described it as “beating the crap out of me.” When doing one other ball safety drill with the quarterbacks, Taylor jumped on high of Jones and spent virtually a minute attempting to wrestle the ball free, which he ultimately did, with Jones laughing all the time.
It is virtually as if Taylor is treating Jones as his annoying little brother.
“I believe that is a great way to explain it,” Taylor mentioned. “What I really like about Mac is that Mac loves soccer. He loves enjoying soccer, he loves speaking soccer, which I believe I am very comparable in that means. We’ve got an excellent rapport in that sense. Mac’s all the time having an excellent time, all the time speaking. We talked about that earlier than, so I’ve acquired no downside speaking. We wish to chirp forwards and backwards each now and again.
“So, it is enjoyable.”
And in case you’ve acquired an annoying little brother, you undoubtedly can relate to this side of their relationship:
“He is continuously asking questions,” Taylor mentioned. “He is continuously speaking, which one factor, like, ‘hey, shut up, I’ve to provide you a play name actual fast.’ He simply runs his mouth on a regular basis, which is enjoyable. It makes observe enjoyable.
“He is chirping with the DBs on a regular basis. It is laborious [in OTAs] when we do not have helmets on so there is no headset communicator. I’ve to bodily get him to come back speak to me to provide him the following play name.”
Jones hasn’t crossed into the “annoying” space along with his teammates, although. Lawrence known as him enjoyable to be round after which used a phrase that will have by no means been used to explain an NFL participant till now.
“He is simply bubbly,” Lawrence mentioned.
“That is in all probability the perfect phrase to explain him,” he continued. “Bubbly. Loves soccer, loves being on the market. The fellows reply nice to him, however he additionally has nice command. He is not only a jokester. He is critical and takes care of his enterprise. Actually sensible participant and I have been impressed with how he is dealt with every part.”
Jones’ 2023 season in New England was a catastrophe, and there have been studies that he misplaced the help of his teammates, although tight finish Hunter Henry mentioned final September that he’d “go to battle with [Jones] any day of the week. I really like competing with that man each single day and I will go to conflict with him wherever it’s.”
Jones would not speak about his Patriots tenure and the way in which it ended, however he has been respectful of the group and complimentary of his time in New England whereas trying towards the long run.
“I’ve a number of respect for the place I got here from and I’ve no laborious emotions and my objective is to maneuver ahead and put that behind me and cherish the relationships that I nonetheless have there,” he mentioned. “However on the identical time, it is 2024 and it is time to be on this new crew.”
