Jags’ Luke Joeckel: ‘I can’t think of myself as an injured, pathetic guy’
By Mike Dyce
The Jacksonville Jaguars used their first-round draft pick in 2013 on Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel. That rookie season was cut short five games in with a broken ankle and Joeckel is looking forward to a better 2014 season.
Some players have a hard time shaking off injuries and play cautiously, but Joeckel isn’t wasting too much time thinking about it.
“It’s done,” Joeckel said Thursday, via The Florida Times-Union. “I’m trying to throw it out of my mind. I’ve just got to play football now at a fast and strong level. I can’t think of myself as an injured, pathetic guy.”
“In some aspects, he’ll be going through his rookie year again,” coach Gus Bradley told the newspaper. “But he was pretty mature when he came in.”
The Jaguars used their 2014 first round draft pick on quarterback Blake Bortles, so they’ll be leaning on Joeckel to protect their new franchise quarterback. The Jaguars have pledged to have Chad Henne start for them, and he might at the beginning of the season, but come on, they’re prepping to hand the reigns over to Bortles whenever that is.
Maybe after training camp, maybe after week six, who knows, but it is happening. They’ve also invested heavily in their offensive line adding two new starters at guard in third-round pick Brandon Linder and free-agent acquisition Zane Beadles. They’ve also added Minnesota Vikings running back Toby Gerhart and made some improvements on the defensive side of the ball as well.