Date: 3/7
Time: 3:30-5:30 p.m. (CDT)
Place: James A. and Frances H. Yance Football Practice Facility
Practice attire: Helmets and shorts, no pads

Offensive Player of the Day: Nick Thompson, So., TE, Madison, Miss.
-Offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield on Thompson: "Nick made two big plays; that's the first time we've had a guy that size makes some plays, which was encouraging.  It was his first day, he hardly knew what was going on but he made two big plays in a team period which I thought was real impressive."

Defensive Player of the Day: none
-Defensive coordinator Greg Stewart on the Jaguar defense: "We tried to get better each down because that's what we're trying to do every day.  We're doing some different stuff communicating, I thought we did pretty good there, but we had some penalties — we jumped offside a couple of times — and I didn't like that, especially to see those from older guys."

Play of the Day: On the next-to-last series of the afternoon, Thompson leaped to catch a pass from Tanner McGee and beat the defensive back to the pylon for a 28-yard touchdown.

Team period highlights: There were a pair of 10-minute team periods in the final half hour pf practice, with the first featuring only pass plays and the second mixing in the run game.

Miscellaneous Notes
-This was the first of three straight days of practice for the Jaguars.
-Nearly all of the first 30 minutes of the workout focused on individual drills.
-During the opening half of practice the Jaguars had a five-minute period focusing on extra points and field goals, followed by a 10-minute period working on special teams coverage techniques.
-Cephus Johnson threw for a pair of touchdowns on the last two snaps of South's 7-on-7 skeleton passing drills period, with McGee adding a score with the pass to Thompson late in the second team period.
-Johnson's touchdown passes were caught by Malik Stanley and Kawaan Baker.
-Davyn Flenord led Jag receivers with five catches on the day, including recording a reception on three snaps in a row during the first team period of the afternoon.
-Jalen Wayne finished the workout with four receptions, while Baker and Jalen Tolbert posted three catches each.
-Tyrone Legette broke up a pass in the end zone to prevent another score against the Jaguar defense during skeleton passing drills.

Head coach Steve Campbell
-On his thoughts of the first spring workout: "It was a good first day, I like the way the guys came out and flew around and there was a good, positive energy.  Offensively I saw some guys make some plays running the ball and making catches down the field, and the quarterbacks made some good reads.  It was a good first day in shorts and helmets, but the first day you really start evaluating is when we put the pads on Saturday.  Right now there is a lot of teaching, which we need."
-On comparing the first day of spring practice to last year: "We're much further along than we were last year.  Last year we finished with seven healthy bodies on the offensive line and today we started with 16, we have much more depth in the backfield, the quarterback position is different than it was a year ago.  Defensively we have some older guys back on the line and in the secondary, but we're going to be youthful at the linebacker spot."

Junior S DJ Daniels
-On being back on the field: "It feels good, the energy in the locker room and during workouts is helping us progress to bigger and better things."
-On his impressions of the team's first practice: "Both sides of the ball are clicking, but there's always room for improvement."
-On resetting after last season: "You can feel the vibe of the team is totally different, Coach Campbell and the staff certainly have a plan for us this year so we're looking forward to having a great season."

Redshirt Freshman QB Cephus Johnson
-On the team's first spring practice: "It felt good to come back out here with my brothers and have some fun, I enjoyed today.  It was actually pretty good for the first day."
-On what was working well: "Everybody had a better understanding of what to do and where to go so practice was a lot smoother."
-On coming into spring practice with playing experience: "Last year, Cole [Garvin] and Evan [Orth] helped me a lot in the spring.  This year I am trying to step up into that role."
-On competition for the starting quarterback position: "Honestly, it's great.  I love the competition, it is just going to push all of us to get better every day."

Up next: The Jags will work out again in shorts and helmets beginning at 3:30 p.m. (CST) Friday.
 
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