Why Liam Coen is taking Jacksonville Jaguars rookies to 'ground zero' in minicamp

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the full swing of summer.

The team opened the Miller Electric Center to fans as they held the second day of rookie minicamp, providing the first official look at first-round pick Travis Hunter in a Jaguars uniform.

“It’s been good to get out here. Really just having them in the building, it’s a new couple of days for everybody,” head coach Liam Coen said at the conclusion of the practice. “Where do they go? Where’s this meeting room? Where’s this located? That all starts to creep in.

“It’s like being a freshman in high school all over again for a lot of these guys.”

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Fans showed up in droves with a line that wrapped around the back of the practice field prior to entry. When the practice opened, they gave Hunter a hero’s welcome, cheering loudly for him as he took the field to do drills.

Hunter spent the day practicing as a wide receiver, but Coen did reveal that he’ll start the transition to defense next week.

“He ran a route yesterday where his shoe came off and it didn’t quite affect him. Made a great catch,” Coen said of Hunter. “It’s more just his presence and the energy he does provide both in the classroom, in the meeting rooms, and also out here on the field.”

Jaguars go back to basics with rookies, teaching them the fundamentals of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Ethan Coen looks on during a rookie minicamp at Miller Electric Center Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Ethan Coen looks on during a rookie minicamp at Miller Electric Center Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Much of rookie minicamp is laying foundation for what’s to come during the remainder of the summer.

The whirlwind nature of the NFL Draft leaves many rookies spinning as they depart the world of collegiate football and enter into professional football.

The rookies are given a crash course on their new home and introduced to coaches and staff members, all while being expected to retain the information given to them and applying it on the football field.

Sometimes, things that are seemingly simple turn into daunting tasks for the young players. Coen gave a key example of this.

“When you poll these guys on how many have been in the huddle recently and how many have heard a verbal cadence recently, it’s very minimal,” he said. “So we are actually teaching: This is the huddle, this is where you line up in the huddle, this is how we break the huddle and this is a verbal cadence, so that is like starting at ground zero in a lot of ways.”

It may seem comical, but many offenses in college football don’t use the huddle. For some players, the last time they huddled was in high school. The team used rookie minicamp as a teaching period for all the players.

Jacksonville Jaguars guard Wyatt Milum (64) listens to offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett during a rookie minicamp at Miller Electric Center Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

With the two days of rookie minicamp completed, the Jaguars will build on the progress gained and merge the rookies in with the rest of the team as they continue through the offseason program.

“The goal is to be able to catch them up on the way we want to act, the way we want to talk, the way we want to communicate if something comes up and how these things end up carrying out onto the grass,” Coen said.

The Jaguars will wrap up the last part of Phase II of the offseason next week and begin organized team activities on May 19.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars rookie camp: Liam Coen ‘ground zero’ approach

Why Liam Coen is taking Jacksonville Jaguars rookies to ‘ground zero’ in minicamp

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