In a recent appearance on “Jaguars Happy Hour,” defensive line coach Brentson Buckner said new defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi still has a chip on his shoulder even after signing a three-year, $30-million contract in free agency. That great mindset can be a rarity for a former sixth-round draft pick following a large payday.
“Foley [Fatukasi] is a great guy,” Buckner said. “I’ve been admiring him for a while. I like to tell fans and people don’t get caught up in the draft. Everybody who gets a helmet is a professional football player. Everybody can’t go number one. But when you get in there and see a guy.
“He gets in and he grinds and he works and the one thing he’s going to have with him when he comes in is a chip on his shoulder. Because we all are competitors, and we all feel that we should go higher than what we really do, so it drives you. And that’s the one thing he did.”
Buckner complimented Fatukasi’s IQ, too. He said Fatukasi is a smart player and likes how he isn’t afraid to ask questions.
He said some players come into the building thinking there isn’t much to learn after signing a large contract, but Fatukasi didn’t.
“Most people sign big contracts, and they come in and they got all the answers,” Buckner said. “No, he still has challenges. ‘Coach, how can I get better? What do I need to work on? Coach, these are some things I saw in my game last year.’ As a coach, that’s what you want.”
It sounds like the Jaguars hit a home run when they signed Fatukasi in free agency this offseason. He has the exact mindset teams want from their new players after giving them large deals.