JAGUARS MOVE UP TO SELECT QUARTERBACK BLAINE GABBERT

The Jaguars traded their first round pick (16thoverall) and second round pick (49thoverall) to the Washington Redskins to select quarterback Blaine Gabbert with the 10thoverall pick.  It marked the fourth straight season the Jaguars had a pick in the top 10.

"Certainly as a scout you would rather move back and acquire picks, and so that is a little bit of a scout mentality," Jaguars General Manager Gene Smith said. "But there are special situations where if you're able to go get a guy that you've done a lot work on that you feel very good about that starts to slide, especially at the quarterback position, we just felt this one here made too much sense not to get a player that we feel can be a very good player for us in the future."

GENE SMITH ON BLAINE GABBERT

"There's a lot to like about him, mentally, physically. He's 6'4-1/2" and is 233.  He ran sub-4.6, he's got a good arm. He's a guy that we did a lot of work on. We know some of the coaches there exceptionally well that have worked with him, they know his make-up. They know what he did for that football program.  This guy won 18 games the last two years.  We see his best football in front of him, relatively young, a guy coming out of a shotgun spread offense that I think in time, put him in our coaches' hands, he'll develop into an outstanding player for us."

JAGUARS SELECT QUARTERBACK IN 1STROUND FOR ONLY SECOND TIME IN TEAM HISTORY

The selection of Blaine Gabbert with the 10thoverall pick marked only the second quarterback taken in the first round in franchise history and only fifth overall.  Byron Leftwich was the seventh overall pick in the 2003 draft.

Since Jacksonville entered the NFL in 1995, the Jaguars have had 19 first-round selections and have drafted in the following manner:

DEFENSE (9) OFFENSE (10)

Defensive tackles      4     Wide receivers    3

Safeties 2    Running backs    2

Linebacker  1    Offensive linemen 2

Cornerback 1    Quarterbacks2

Defensive end    1    Tight end1

GABBERT BECOMES 12THUNDERCLASSMEN SELECTED

Blaine Gabbert became the 12thunderclassmen selected by the Jaguars since juniors were formally allowed to enter the draft in 1990.  The Jaguars have selected an underclassman in six of the last eight years. Gabbert played in five games as a true freshman at Missouri as a reserve to Chase Daniel.

GABBERT JOINS TEAMMATE IN FIRST ROUND

Blaine Gabbert was one of two Missouri players to go in the first round and it marked the first time in school history two players went in the top 10. Defensive end Aldon Smith was selected seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers. 

The duo are the fourth and fifth first-round selections from the school in the last three years, joining Jeremy Maclin (19th, Philadelphia, 2009), Sean Witherspoon (19th, Atlanta, 2010) and Ziggy Hood (32nd, Pittsburgh, 2009) in the pros. 

"I'm really happy and excited for Blaine and Aldon," Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel said. "They have both had dreams for a long time to play in the NFL, and they're great examples of how those goals can be reached through our program at Mizzou. They're both going to quality franchises, and it's really rewarding to continue to see more and more of our guys playing at the next level. "

The five first-round picks from Missouri are the tied with Florida for the second-most in the nation in the last three years, trailing only Alabama (7). 

GABBERT ONE OF FOUR QUARTERBACKS SELECTED IN FIRST ROUND

Blaine Gabbert was the third of four quarterbacks selected in the first round, following Cam Newton (Carolina, 1st) and Jake Locker (Tennessee, 8th).  Former Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was selected by Minnesota with the 12thoverall pick. 

The four quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks were the second-most since 1970. Five of the first 12 picks in 1999 were quarterbacks (Tim Couch, 1st; Donovan McNabb, 2nd; Akili Smith, 3rd; Daunte Culpepper, 11th, Cade McNown, 12th)

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR HAS MISSOURI TIES

It has been a while but Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter has some history with the University of Missouri.  Koetter spent five seasons (1989-93) on the Tigers coaching staff as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. 

"Coach (Dirk) Koetter and Coach (Mike) Sheppard are great coaches," Blaine Gabbert said. "I'm looking forward to having a chance to work with them."

DID YOU KNOW?

Blaine Gabbert played quarterback, linebacker and defensive end in middle school before settling on quarterback at Parkway West High School.

THROWING THE ROCK

It's no secret that Blaine Gabbert played in an offense at Missouri that was suited for throwing the ball.  He finished his career with 933 passing attempts in two-plus seasons, with 445 passing attempts as a sophomore in 2009 and 475 attempts in 2010. 

FAMILY CONNECTION

Blaine Gabbert's brother, Tyler, is a redshirt freshman at Missouri and is following in his brother's footsteps at quarterback.  Tyler is expected to compete for the starting job.

FIRST ROUND BREAKDOWN

The Jaguars' 10th pick in the first round of the 2011 draft was the team's 19th overall first round selection.  Here is a breakdown of the first round picks:

YEAR  NO     PLAYER  COLLEGE

1995    2  OT Tony Boselli Southern California

   19 RB James Stewart  Tennessee

1996    2  LB Kevin Hardy Illinois

1997    21 DT Renaldo Wynn  Notre Dame

1998    9  RB Fred Taylor  Florida

    25 SS Donovin Darius  Syracuse

1999    26 CB Fernando Bryant     Alabama

2000    29 WR R. Jay Soward  Southern California

2001    13 DT Marcus Stroud  Georgia

2002    9  DT John Henderson     Tennessee

2003    7  QB Byron Leftwich Marshall

2004    9  WR Reggie Williams Washington

2005    21 WR Matt Jones Arkansas

2006    28 TE Marcedes Lewis UCLA

2007    21 S Reggie Nelson Florida

2008    8  DE Derrick Harvey  Florida

2009    8  OT Eugene Monroe     Virginia

2010    10 DT Tyson Alualu California

2011    10 QB Blaine Gabbert Missouri

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

The second round of the NFL Draft gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday and will continue through round three.  Each team has seven minutes to make a selection in round two and five minutes for each of the remaining four rounds.  The Jaguars are without a second-round pick and own the 16thpick in the third round, the 80thoverall. 

Jaguars first-round pick Blaine Gabbert is expected to arrive in Jacksonville this afternoon to meet with the coaching staff and speak to the local media.