Cleaning out the Jacksonville Jaguars notebook after a week-and-a-half of training camp:
Offensive roster math: Four or five receivers. Nine or 10 offensive linemen? Four or five tight ends?
Not counting Travis Hunter as a receiver, keeping rookies Josh Cameron and CJ Williams should be on the table if the Jaguars carry five receivers. Cameron helps his case every day.
If Cameron/Williams stick, it might mean nine offensive linemen, which puts Chuma Edoga in trouble because the Jaguars have Walker Little as their swing tackle who can also play guard.
At tight end, does the run-game commitment allow Hunter Long to squeeze onto the roster as the fifth guy? I still think that’s a long shot, but something to monitor.
don't need to announce it. Anton Harrison should be the LT
Campanile’s view: Standing behind the line of scrimmage, what does defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile watch at the snap?
“I always try to watch from the middle out,” he said. “The more you do that, the more you can see. If you can relax your eyes, you can see a lot more. If you’re staring at one particular spot, you don’t see the whole picture.”
Harrison-Cleveland rapport: A key part of the right tackle-to-left tackle transition for Anton Harrison is getting valuable time next to left guard Ezra Cleveland.
“We don’t have a lot of snaps together and we’re overly communicating and getting a bunch of reps to make it like there isn’t a drop-off at all,” Harrison said. “It’s very important. It’s good to have that relationship when you’re in the battle.”
Carson Beck’s stellar debut
Jacksonville native Carson Beck (Mandarin High School, followed by Georgia and Miami) started for the Arizona Cardinals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 and was terrific, completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown. The Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers, 33-30.
“It’s a broken record, but it’s the same thing I keep seeing in practice,” Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur told reporters. “He doesn’t make it too big. He just makes it about the play.”
Said Beck: “From the time I crossed the white lines, I was ready to roll.”
Beck is working as the third quarterback behind veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew, but if the Cardinals' season goes how it projects (rebuilding), it would make 100% sense to play Beck starting in November to see if he can be the guy in 2027.
J.P. Shadrick’s move to Arizona
Hat tip and good luck to J.P. Shadrick, who departs this weekend for his new job as the Arizona Cardinals’ play-by-play announcer. Shadrick spent 14 years with the Jaguars as a senior reporter in a variety of roles, chiefly as a pre- and post-game radio host and appearing on the team’s website.
I asked Shadrick for the five coolest text messages he received since the Cardinals announced his hire.
Verne Lundquist (retired CBS announcer): Shadrick was Ol’ Verne’s “SEC on CBS” spotter from 2005-09. “Standing by him every Saturday, I learned the amount of preparation, knowledge and skill needed to call play-by-play at the highest level. One of the greatest voices in football history. If I have produced 10% of the career he produced, I will lived a full life.”
Eli Gold (Alabama play-by-play announcer, 1988-2023): “The standard for a kid from Alabama. If Keith Jackson wasn’t calling the Alabama game on TV, my mom, dad and I would turn the volume down and put the radio on (to listen to Gold) back when it was usually synced. Always helpful to us kids on student radio.”
NFL radio announced group text: Shadrick knew many of the play-by-play announcers before he was introduced to the group by Jaguars announcer Frank Frangie. “When Brad Sham (Dallas Cowboys), Merrill Reese (Philadelphia Eagles), Wayne Larrivee (Green Bay Packers), Wes Durham (Atlanta Falcons) and so many others that I highly respect chime in, that’s when reality set in.”
Patrick Murphy (Alabama’s softball coach since 1999): Shadrick was the Tide’s softball voice from 2002-04 for the student radio station. “He was instrumental in helping me learn how to cover a team on a daily basis — ask better questions, work with the players, interviews after wins and losses.”
Network television announcers: Shadrick received text messages from Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Andrew Catalon and Spero Dedes of CBS and Kenny Albert and Chris Myers from FOX.
Extra points
1. FSU playing in Jacksonville: A year after Miami and Florida played here, another great match-up was secured with Florida State facing Houston at the Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday, Dec. 20 (tickets on sale Oct. 20). Hopefully the tip time will be much earlier than last year’s 8:30 p.m. for Canes-Gators. Seminoles second-year coach Luke Loucks has constructed another challenging non-conference schedule, playing four games against Power 5 competition (vs. Florida, at Tennessee, vs. Texas A&M in Houston and the game in against Houston in Jacksonville). The Seminoles host Jacksonville University on Dec. 16.
2. UF quarterback competition: The Gators started fall camp earlier this week, headlined by the quarterback competition pitting Jacksonville’s Tramell Jones (Mandarin) against Aaron Philo, who followed offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech. Faulkner on Jones: “What’s been unique is how well he’s picked (the offense) up because it’s not easy to pick up. It’s a lot. He’s done a great job of really getting caught up to speed. I like the way he carries himself. He’s a very confident kid, comfortable in his own skin and I think, usually, those guys are very successful in this game.”
3. Etc.: What’s a better way to raise money than offering a raffle winner to call the plays to start a football game? It’s better than flipping the coin. Akron coach Joe Moorhead is offering up the opportunity for the Zips’ game Robert Morris. Of course, it will be in conjunction with him and the coaching staff, but still, really cool. The publicity effort is working – Moorhead did an interview with TMZ Sports earlier this week. … Tennis coach David Witt, a resident of Ponte Vedra Beach, is now working with women’s player Peyton Stearns, currently ranked 57th in the world. … Denver Broncos second-year receiver Pat Bryant (Atlantic Coast High School/Illinois) drew praise from coach Sean Payton. “He has some of the better hands in traffic with his feet on the ground and he’s really good at run-after-the-catch,” Payton said. “He’s real smart so he’s someone that can move from (outside) to the slot. It’ll be easy creating his role.” … Great decision by NASCAR to move The Clash (non-points race) back to Daytona (Feb. 13, 2027), where it was last held on the oval in 2020. This race belongs on a super speedway. … LIV Golf says it is securing financing to stay afloat. Who would give that outfit a dime? You would be better off dousing your cash in gasoline and throwing a match on it.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-6 p.m. on "The Lead").
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Two rookie receivers making case to make Jaguars' roster
