When the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jacksonville native Shaquille Quarterman in the fourth round of April’s draft, fans were beyond excited about the addition, and with good reason. Who wouldn’t be when watching his career at Oakleaf High and with the Miami Hurricanes?
During his time with Miami, he was an ironman for the Hurricanes, playing in all of the games the team had during his tenure (52). During that time he was able to register 356 total tackles (46.5 for loss), 12 sacks, and a pick. Simply put, he had quite the run from 2016-19.
Now, a new challenge awaits him in the pros and it’s one he’ll gladly embrace. The Jacksonville native got a chance to sit down with 1010XL radio Friday for “The Frank Frangie Show” to talk some football. At the end of the interview he was asked about his personal goals while playing in the NFL and his reply was simple: being a major contributor for whatever unit he’s on.
“My goal for Year 1 is to be a major contributor, whether that’s playing special teams [which is a given for rookies], playing some defense,” Quarterman said. “Either I’ll play special teams and get a lot of defensive [snaps] or wherever the dice may fall, I know I’m going to be a contributor. That’s not something I think about [another player hindering him]. No, that [goal] is going to happen. So my goal is to be a major contributor.”
He sounds exactly like the type of player the Jags need as they aren’t projected to win a lot of contests in 2020.
As a rookie, Quarterman clearly knows he’ll have to earn a spot on the team regardless of where it is. However, if special teams is where he settles as a rookie, Quarterman added that he wanted to be the guy for each phase of the unit. He also shared his aspirations with Frangie and his co-hosts.
“My many milestones with that is being a core guy on all of our special teams,” Quarterman added. “It’s not good enough just to be on one, or two, or three, especially when you want to be the best you can be. I’ve learned that I don’t compete against anybody else, I compete against myself. Any situation I ever lacked in or couldn’t reach is because I didn’t change something I was doing. I don’t think anyone else can stop me from accomplishing what I need to accomplish.”
Whenever the Jags return to the field, Quarterman has the type of mentality fans will gravitate toward. Add in the fact that he’ll have mentors like Myles Jack and Joe Schobert to take him under their wings, and it appears everything is in place for him to become a solid player.