Better Know a Jacksonville Jaguar: University of Florida Center Drew Miller:

[Note by River City Rage, 06/10/08 12:10 AM EDT ]
A good friend of Big Cat Country, Clodknocker, was kind enough to write this fantastic article about one of the newest Jaguars, Drew Miller.  Drew is the only offensive linemen acquired by the Jaguars during the offseason and has a better shot to make the team than most of our UFA's.  Enjoy!

Drew comes from the University of Florida, where Jack Del Rio seems to have developed a relationship with Florida Coach Urban Meyer, and where the Jaguars have seemingly developed a pipeline for drafting 1th round picks; Reggie Nelson in 2007, and Derrick Harvey in 2008.

He also played on a National Championship team. When asked about starting for the Gators on that team by GatorBait.net , he said:

'That was amazing! There is nothing you can compare that to...It's the best feeling I can think of for a player on a team to feel...'

Mark Wheeler, the interviewer continued, ' You snapped the ball to and blocked for a Heisman Trophy winner. How big is that?'

 It's definitely something I'll always remember. Playing with such a special person such as Tim Tebow-I'll never forget that. That's something the entire line took a lot of pride in. Everyone thought he would get killed keeping the ball as much as he did...When he won it (the Heisman Trophy), I was as happy as if I had won it. He's such a great person...'

Drew spent his time after the season's end training in Sarasota with Rich Lansky's O. P.T.I. He participated in the East-West All-Star game in January. Since then, he has been training at home eight hours a day doing position work or working on his speed and lifting weights.

He tells me that he feels equally comfortable playing center, guard, or tackle. His OTA reps, however, were mostly at center with a few at left guard. He practiced with the second team some which featured Cleo Lemon as quarterback, but most of his reps were with the third team which featured Todd Bauman and Paul Smith as quarterbacks.

I asked, ' Of the veteran players who has been the most helpful'? Without hesitation, he answered, 'Tony Pashos'  Tony is willing to stay after practice and watch films with him. I added, ' What player are you most impressed with?' Again, without hesitation, he said, 'Brad Meester'. He said that Brad makes playing center look easy and he knows how to leverage his position. Right now, Brad is busy trying to raise money for the victims of a tornado that hit his home town , Parkersburg, Iowa. The Jaguars are selling ball caps with the logo of Brad's high school to help raise additional monies.

What are his expectations for the future? He plans to work hard  with the offence and also earn a position on Special Teams. One thing is for sure; he wants to stay in Jacksonville. These are the three reasons. One; It is close to his home in Sarasota. Two; He likes the city. Three; He likes the chemistry of the team.

Scouting Report:

NFL Draft Scout :

Positives: Works hard every snap, and is athletic enough to get into position to reach or wall off a defender. ... Adequate burst and feet to combo block and get to the linebacker. ... Handles shotgun snaps well. ... Able to pull and trap fairly quickly, and gets out in front of screens. ... Smart player who makes line calls.

Negatives: Does not play to size and weight room strength on the field. ... Gets blown off the ball by better, stronger tackles. ... Reaches too much in pass protection, instead of moving his feet. ... Often off-balance and lunging when blocking downfield, so he is only adequate at finding and adjusting to targets on the move. ... Lacks a mean streak. ... Not much of a drive blocker. ... Punch is lacking and he does not sustain well

Stats:

Measuring an offensive lineman is tricky without hours and hours of coaches film to breakdown and diagnose plays.  What we do know is that the anchor of the University of Florida offensive line that generated 200.2 rushing yards per game and surrendered only 13 sacks in 13 games. Tim Tebow would not have been Tim Tebow were it not for the offensive line, and Drew Miller was the center of it all, no pun intended.

Why will he make the team?

He's a young and developing talent on a team that has an opportunity for putting a jar on the shelf on for the offensive line.  He's the only acquired player on the line, and if you're not adding the big guys, you'll be hurting in a very short time.  Brad Meester is secure as can be as a starter, but it's certainly not a bad thing to look at his long term replacement.  More likely than not, Drew is playing for a spot on the practice squad, as the numbers battle will probably preclude him from the starting roster.  His best interest would be to show an ability to play other positions on the line in the case of injury and build his value from there. 

[Note by River City Rage, 06/10/08 12:19 AM EDT ]: Big thanks to Drew Miller and Clodknocker for putting this together!

Quick Bytes: The daily digest of everything you need to know about the Jacksonville Jaguars (and other things).

:  Monday's OTA:

• Key Injuries: DE Brian Smith and WR Mike Walker are were both sidelined.  Walker is clearly on an intentionally slow recovery.  Better to let him ease through the summer rather than send him to camp injured.
•  Brian Smith, on the other hand, will not be a Jaguar on September first.  His injury is simply too nagging and will not allow him a chance to even try out for the roster.  The Jaguars took a risk on Smith and missed.  With all the competition on our roster, it'd be foolish to deny someone who can prove themselves a spot on the team or practice squad for an unknown quantity in Smith.  He clearly wants to play, but his body won't let him.
• Defensive End Reggie Hayward was absent from both OTA's so far this week for reasons unknown.  He is expected to practice on Thursday (today), so I assume this a no-news equals good news event.
•  The Wide Receiver battle of Troy Williamson and John Broussard is proceding as predicted.  Both are competing for the same "fast deep threat" role in the offense, and both are making impressive catches.  Yes, Troy Williamson is catching the ball.
• QB Todd Bouman, according to Vic Ketchman, has the most impressive arm so far in camp.  Though Garrard looked his best so far on Monday.  Bouman is locked into an epic battle with UDFA Paul Smith for the "number three" QB spot.  I can tell you for a fact that this is a battle that the coaches want Paul Smith to win, but Bouman will not go down without a fight.
• Each observer of the OTA's has commented on how quick Quentin Groves is looking so far.  Certainly, everyone looks fast when they're in t-shirts and there is no real contact, but it's a very positive sign.  Quentin is very excited about being a defensive end, which is also uplifting.
• Matt Jones had a very bad practice on Thursday, which led to his lack of reps on Monday and Tuesday.  There is something afoot between the Jaguars and Matt Jones right now, and it isn't good for either one.  More on this later.
• Donnie Henderson is a very vocal coach.  If it makes our secondary stronger, yell away. 
  

: Tuesday's OTA

• The "starting DE's" with Hayward and Spicer absent are James Wyche and Kenny Pettway.  This is a good time for both of them to be impressive, as they're competing the fifth spot in the rotation, presuming of course that Hayward, Spicer, Harvey and Groves make the team. 
• Something to watch: DE/DPR Brent Hawkins took some reps at linebacker, as well as at DE.  Hawkins needs to prove himself as useful as possible, considering the crowd at both DE and LB
  
• Brian Williams, as usual, was the starting strong safety.  Shame on you Vic Ketchman for being all wishy washy about Williams move to safety, then mocking the fans for not seeing the obviousness of the move.  It was you, good sir, that put the doubt in our minds.  The Collective Fanbase saw the Florence Signing as the writing on the wall for the move, your resistance toward confirming that was silly and should not entitle you to mocking us. 
• Matt Jones caught a pass.  At this point, this is news

• Jerry Porter has some sort of Achilles strain that is having him iced up rather than on the field.  Nothing to worry about, he's probably working a little harder than he should to make an impression with the team. 
  
• Chauncey Washington and D.D. Terry are having a bit of a competition for a backup running back spot.  Word on the street is that the coaches are very happy with Terry. 
• Vince Manuwai has moved from left guard to right guard, putting him next to Tony Pashos on the line.  The Jaguars are going to have a whole lot of big runs to the right side with the two of them run blocking.
  

Hopefully we'll have more updates as the Thursday Morning OTA concludes!

-Chris