Luke Joeckel Impressing Coaches at Jacksonville Jaguars Minicamp
By Josh Sanchez
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected former Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. The move was initially met with criticism because of the belief you should not take a right tackle so high in the draft, but Joeckel’s transition from the left to right side seems to be coming along just well.
Joeckel had said the switch was tough at first as he worked on fine tuning his footwork from the opposite side, but now Joeckel appears to be more comfortable as he receives more reps on the right side during the Jaguars minicamp.
“It’s feeling a lot better than I thought it would,” Joeckel said, via the Associated Press. “My set felt a lot cleaner today and my first step felt a little bit faster today. It’s going to be a process, but it’s moving along pretty well.”
It is important to note that Joeckel is going up against undrafted free agents and players who are in camp on a tryout basis during these sessions, but it has to be comforting for the Jaguars to see he is dominating the players that he should be easily handling. It is a great sign for his development on the right side.
One person on the coaching staff who has been working very closely with Joeckel, offensive line coach George Yarno, has had nothing but positive comments about Joeckel’s performance.
“He has excellent movement skills, great balance, he’s a very smart kid. He’s working hard. He’s going to get better fast. He’s competitive. Love what I’ve seen so far,” Yarno said.
”He’s so smooth, a fluid mover. He has great, natural balance. His lower body has a lot of power in it. He has a low center of gravity. He has all those things you look for in a tackle, especially. I’m really excited to get to work with him.”
If he can continue to improve and get comfortable on the right side, the Jaguars will make everyone forget that they took a right tackle No. 1 overall and instead he will be remembered as a dominant force that was selected early for all of the right reasons.