Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew comments on his personal progress and the relationships with his team

Jacksonville, FL. — The Jaguars PR team sent out an official press release on August 12th with comments from Gardner Minshew about his personal progress, his relationships with his team, and his goals for the season.

On identifying the most progress fundamentally and offensively:

“Yeah, I think the big thing so far is cleaning up a few things technique-wise with drill work with [Jaguars Quarterbacks] Coach [Ben] McAdoo, he’s bringing in a lot of experience, worked with a lot of really good guys. So, all of the quarterbacks were just eager to learn from him and then I think once getting into offense, it’s all about communication. You know, whether it’s at the line in the huddle, just making sure everybody knows their job and all the quarterbacks are doing a good job of getting everybody where they need to go.”

On his workout emphasis during the offseason in Naples:

“Yeah working with [Sports Fitness] Coach Anthony Tumbarello down there, got a lot of good work in. Obviously, speed was a big area of emphasis down there. And then maintaining as much strength as I can, to put as much on the ball as possible, with my current weight. We had a lot of good work and now I’m glad to be back with Coach Mylo [Strength and Conditioning Coach Tom Myslinski] in our weight room here and continue that process here.”

On what is at the top of the list to accomplish this year:

“Yeah, I think it’s hard to set goals like that far in advance, I think we set it every day. You know, we want to get better, I think we went out there today, we got better. We got better at some blitz pickup, a few different things. And I think if we get better at one thing every day through camp, through the year, by the end of the year, we’ll like where we’re at.”

On his relationship with RB Leonard Fournette:

“Yeah you know, being from the south, Leonard’s a legend, dude. He’s been like the five-star No. 1 player in the country since he was in eighth or ninth grade, so everybody knew Leonard, basically forever. Being on his team is really cool. He comes in, he handles his business well, does his job and he’s been great this camp. [He’s] been a great teammate and [I’m] looking forward to have him doing the same this year.”

On how fun it is with RB Leonard Fournette in the locker room:

“Yeah we got a lot of personalities in the locker room and he’s obviously a big one. I joke around at times, I guess, and then you’ve got guys like Myles Jack who’s always doing the same thing. So, really those two, that’s the stories you need to get, cause they’re at each other about every day. That’s who you need to check in on.”

On relationship with WR DJ Chark Jr. in the past year:

“Yeah, it’s huge. I mean, this time last year we didn’t get to work together very much at all. We had a few reps in the preseason and then we were kind of throw in, in the regular season. This offseason, we got a lot of good work with DJ. Like I was talking about in the beginning, just communication. You know, really understanding what he’s thinking in certain things and me explaining to him what the goal of the play is, what I’m thinking. I think that’s going to allow us just to understand each other a lot better and hopefully be on the same page more this year.”

On having more reps with WR DJ Chark than anyone else on the team:

“Yeah absolutely. You know, we’re trying to work towards that with all the guys that we’re going to have in there. But it absolutely helps. I think the more reps, the more communication, the better we’ll be. When he can kind of expect what’s coming and I can know what’s coming from him, I think it allows us to be a lot better and play a lot faster.”

On TE James O’Shaughnessy’s return to the practice field:

“No, it’s huge man, I was so happy. I saw James today, came up and gave him a big hug. Just ready, so excited for him coming back. Through the part of the season before he got hurt last year, we really developed some chemistry. He caught some big balls for me. And I’m just so happy for him personally. You know, to be back out here, I know the fight that he’s had, just trying to get ready for this. And to have him out there, it’s a lot of fun.”

On PAC-12′s season cancellation and his message to his alma mater team, Washington State:

“Yeah, I reached out to a couple guys and I’m probably going to reach out to a couple more to see how they’re doing. I know the amount of work that they put in. I know how bad this sucks, especially for those older guys that don’t know what the future holds right now, don’t know if they’re going to have their senior year at all, don’t know if they get the year back or what. So really, just feeling for those guys. Hope they come to resolution sooner rather than later. I just told them to keep their head up and if there’s anything I can help them with, I’d love to help.”

On the importance of having his final year at Washington State University:

“It was huge for me. Without that year at Washington State, I wouldn’t have been drafted, I probably would’ve gone undrafted. So, it’s truly a blessing. I couldn’t have imagined having– if I wouldn’t have had that, don’t know, my life would’ve been way different. So, [I’m] definitely fortunate, blessed, whatever you want to call it. But I’m extremely grateful for where I am and I hate it, it makes me hate it that much more for those guys that are in that situation this year.”

On working on pocket presence and footwork in the pocket within strength conditioning during the offseason:

“Absolutely, that was huge part of what I did. Basically, every time I was throwing, I had somebody either knocking at the ball or just around me trying to work the subtleties, the subtle moving in the pocket and still being able to throw, whether it’s off-balance or regaining balance quickly. So that was a big emphasis this year and obviously ball security is something I’m taking very seriously.”

On how this training is different knowing that he’s the starting quarterback:

“Yeah, I actually haven’t had a camp like this going into it since, I guess, my senior year of high school, so it’s awesome. You know, just being with the guys and trying to figure out how we—what we want to be as a team because we get to define that right now. There’s a group of guys on this team, a group of leaders, that have a very real opportunity to change the culture here, to develop a winning culture and I think it’s already started. The guys are very excited to get on the field, whether it’s even just for practice right now. So, I’m glad to be here, super grateful for the opportunity and hoping to make the most of it.”

On times when he realizes he should be speaking up:

“No, no, it’s something that I guess I’ve just always had the ability to do. Just glad to have the opportunity now.”

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