Most fans would say DJ Chark is one of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ top players, which was why it was a bit surprising to see Urban Meyer tell the media that he called out the young receiver earlier this offseason. In a nutshell, the first year-head coach wasn’t happy with the film he saw on Chark last season, which caused him to challenge Chark to become stronger.
“I just didn’t like his size. His strength, I just thought, was way below average, way below what we expect from our receivers, and he was told that,” Meyer said during OTAs. “He’s a big guy that played little last year, and that can’t happen. Guys like [Saints WR] Mike Thomas and [former Florida and NFL WR] Louis Murphy are those big, strong, fast receivers, and he’s got to play big and strong.”
However, instead of taking those comments the wrong way, Chark hit the weight room with intensity and worked his way to 210 pounds, after previously being listed at 200 pounds. And according to strength and conditioning coach, Anthony Schlegel, his approach was relentless and rubbed off on other receivers.
“I saw him just put in work.” Schlegel said this week. “The one thing is you have to be accessible, you have to be open and one of our things is we are open. We’re open in the training room, we’re open in the weight room, we’re open in the nutrition room, so you have to give them everything in your toolbox to increase his value and maximize him. We need him to put on some weight, let’s get bumpy.
“It was him and Terry [Godwin] and Laviska [Shenault Jr.] and then all the other wide receivers started coming in and they just started having competition in the weight room. You create that atmosphere to where they want to be, they want to train.”
This is certainly what fans should want to hear about Meyer, the players, and the staff as it speaks volumes about the atmosphere that’s been created. Then again, with Meyer’s love for the sports performance department, it’s certainly not shocking to see his ways rub off on the team.
With the mentality and mindset he’s taken on these last few months, Chark could be on his way to becoming a Pro Bowler again. That could also get him the contract extension he’s probably looking for, too, as 2021 is the last season on his rookie deal.