Quentin Groves was admittedly a little star-struck Monday.
Sitting in the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive meeting, the second-round pick looked over at defensive tackle John Henderson and thought, "Whoa.
"
The reactions were somewhat similar upon seeing quarterback David Garrard and Fred Taylor, too.
"I was just star-struck for the first part,
" Groves said. "But then I kind of settled in and said, 'OK, they're just like me. . . . We both play the game we all love to play.
"
The difference was, Henderson knew exactly where he was supposed to be when the team went through its drills on the first of four days of organized team activities (OTAs). Rookies such as defensive ends Groves and first-round pick Derrick Harvey were just starting to feel their way around the Jaguars' offensive and defensive systems.
Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio wasn't surprised to see more than one head spinning as the rookies tried to figure out where they were supposed to be.
"It was OK. A lot of short-circuiting,
" Del Rio said. "It's pretty much routine, this first practice for a class of rookies. We've been working (and) these guys are coming in, trying to catch-up. A lot of mental errors, a lot of things that we'll correct -- but the effort was there. The effort was good, the energy was good.
"
"It's really pretty much expected when you bring in these young guys that they're going to have some short-circuiting. I do think in my initial look at our roster and just watching us practice, I think we have a faster roster. I think we have more team speed now than we've had probably since I've been here, so that's good. That's something we've been after and it appears we are a quicker team, so that's a good thing."
Harvey, a defensive end from Florida, worked with the second team Monday and played left end, while Groves spent most of his time with the third team and worked from the right side.
Del Rio declared it was much too early to read anything into any depth charts -- veterans Paul Spicer (contract holdout) and Reggie Hayward (unexplained absence) weren't there Monday -- at this point.
Neither should it be assumed both players are locked into those spots on the right and left side. Harvey, for instance, is expected to get a look at the right defensive end spot.
Given the Jaguars' desire to increase their pass rush, it's unlikely the rookies will be held down for long. But any promotion they get, they're going to have to earn.
"Everybody's got a chance (to start),
" Del Rio said when asked about Harvey. "We're not going to hand him any position, but certainly he's got the athletic ability to put himself in that mix.
"
Right or left end didn't matter to Harvey, who was taken with the No. 8 overall pick after Jacksonville moved up 18 spots in the first round to get him.
"I'll play kicker if I have to,
" he said. "All I want is a chance.
"
Groves, who at 6-foot-3, 259 pounds, is smaller than the 6-5, 271-pound Harvey, could be used as more of a situational pass rush specialist in his rookie season.
But Del Rio didn't rule anything out there, either.
"We're not looking to place a cap on him prematurely,
" the coach said. "We feel confident that at the minimum we'll get pass rush in pass-rush situations. But he's a guy that has shown the ability to stack the tight end, that did 30 reps on the bench. He's got to have pretty good strength to be able to do that. I feel like we'll be able to plug him in and we may make sure that we're protecting him (by not having him take on double teams) much like we have in the past with guys like (Bobby) McCray and other guys that were the lighter guys, but we think he can play.
"
"We don't think he can play all the time. We'll just see if he's earned the ability to play from the start.
"
Harvey and Groves both said that while the speed of the game is an adjustment, the biggest thing they have to learn is the new terminology. Since arriving Friday, the two have been virtually inseparable and have been constantly quizzing each other.
Of course, that doesn't mean they still don't make the occasional rookie mistake. For now.
"(The first time I lined up), I said, 'I hope I get the call right,'
" Groves said. "One play, I didn't get the call and I had to lean into the D-tackle and ask, 'What's the call?'
"He said, 'Hot.'
"I said, 'All right, I'm in the right alignment.' It was something like that kind of got me antsy and on edge.
"
