It goes without saying Gardner Minshew is the guy for the Jacksonville Jaguars heading into 2020, but there is uncertainty behind him at quarterback. The team also have veterans Joshua Dobbs and Mike Glennon on the roster, but neither has distanced themselves or built a notable buzz from TIAA Bank Field.
One quarterback who has, however, is sixth-round rookie Jake Luton, at least according to offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. In his virtual meeting with the media Friday, Gruden called the young signal-caller the “biggest pleasant surprise” of the Jags’ training camp so far.
“Yes, I think that’s been the biggest pleasant surprise, I would say is his ability to come in here and learn,” Gruden said when asked if Luton was ahead of expectations. “He plays with great poise and confidence for a young player. We put him in the number one huddle a couple times, and he has shown no sign of being intimidated. He fits right in there, like I said, he’s got great accuracy, he’s got great arm strength, so we’ve been very impressed with him.”
One thing that was clear when the Jags drafted Luton was he had the prototypical size at 6-foot-6, 224-pounds. Evidently, those physical tools have translated well.
Luton’s play is certainly encouraging news as coach Doug Marrone said there was no clear cut No. 2 guy behind Minshew over a week ago, according to John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. That said, it appears Luton has upped his play lately and several media members have caught on.
Marrone said no clear cut favorite has emerged yet for the top backup QB job behind Gardner Minshew pic.twitter.com/9QBlzHfpR6
— John Reid (@JohnReid64) August 20, 2020
Rookie QB Jake Luton made nice completion to TE Tyler Eifert. Eifert is a big target but has the speed to beat coverage
— John Reid (@JohnReid64) August 22, 2020
#Jaguars sixth-round rookie Jake Luton impressing me again. Two quality throws downfield not rewarded. Marvelle Ross can’t make a diving catch most NFL receivers would and then on the next play Collin Johnson flat out drops a bomb.
— Hays Carlyon (@HaysCarlyon) August 16, 2020
Gruden was also asked about whether or not he thought the team would keep three quarterbacks and stated that it would ultimately come down to Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell, though he’d like to keep three.
“Well, I’m always going to give my opinion, but at the end of the day, it’s up to Coach [Doug] Marrone and obviously [General Manager] Dave Caldwell and they’ll have the final say,” said Gruden. “But, if I have my way, I definitely want to keep three. With all of the things going on in the world today, with the Coronavirus, you never know what’s going to happen.”
The Jags are approaching the two-week mark before the season so Luton’s name will be one to watch closely heading forward. If he continues the growth we’ve witnessed over the last few weeks, he could very well boot Mike Glennon or Joshua Dobbs out of the mix.