The expansive playbooks, the speed of the game - neither surprised rookie linebacker Justin Durant at his first minicamp practice.
In fact, the only head-shaking shocker Durant has experienced thus far is the relative ease of his transition from small-school linebacker at Hampton University to Jaguars rookie.
"I expected it to be a lot harder," he said.
A second-round pick (48th overall), Durant joined the Jaguars as the highest draft pick in Hampton history.
Just one other Hampton player (Cordell Taylor, a second-rounder in 1998) has been picked during the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.
If you're looking for a small-school chip on Durant's shoulder - the one owned by most players from non-Division I-A schools - turn over a few more stones. It's not there.
Durant won't let where he came from add pressure to perform, even if some critics look at the situation as one in which the Jaguars selected a small-school player too high in the draft.
"People may be saying a couple of things, but obviously the Jaguars thought highly of me to draft me so high," Durant said. "I'm not really out to prove all the fans wrong and prove this or that person wrong. I'm just going out there and doing my job."
At Hampton, Durant helped the Pirates to three consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles and became the first player in conference history to be named defensive player of the year in three consecutive seasons.
The Jaguars envision him as an outside linebacker, which is where he lined up during the minicamp practices.
A former middle linebacker at Hampton, Durant is versatile enough to play the inside or outside spots.
"I really like this player," Jaguars linebackers coach Mark Duffner said after the club drafted Durant. "I just saw him [on film] game after game making play after play. At times, he got hampered with some injuries. He never took a backseat in terms of competitiveness, in terms of athleticism, in terms of play-making.
"I like his attitude. He's a very hungry, competitive guy."
Posted By: Joah King
Wednesday, October 17th 2007 at 2:03AM
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