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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Wide Receiver Collin Johnson

(On the last play of the day) "Oh man, if I would have caught that, it would have been the cherry on top of the day for me. I'm going to have to look at that one on film and figure out why I didn't come down with it because that would have completed my day personally so I've got to clean that up but I am happy with the other catches and other plays I made, but I'm all about getting better so I've got to continue to get better and listen to Coach [Keenan] McCardell, who played for 17 years and is a great coach too and I'm always learning from the other receivers in the room so it's all about learning. It's a process for sure."

(On some of the passes he saw today from the quarterbacks) "I personally got plenty of reps from all the quarterbacks which has been nice because its good to get in work with all the guys. I caught a few passes from Gardner [Minshew II], I caught a few passes from Josh [Dobbs], Jake [Luton], all those guys, Mike [Glennon]. It's been good getting reps with those guys but at the end of the day I just try to control what I can control and be the best receiver I can be so when those guys throw me the ball, I can gain their trust and make a play so that's what I'm focused on and my main thing throughout camp and today."

(On working on making acrobatic catches) "I'm kind of 6'6' but when I was a kid, I used to always do flips and stuff so I think it kind of seeped over into wide receiver and my body control. I'm trying to stay on my feet a little more but sometimes when you have to make a play, I'll put my body on the line anytime to make the play for my teammates. It's something I practice a little bit but in the heat of the moment, sometimes you just got to do what you got to do for your team. I can do backflips, and front flips but I'm not aloud to do that because my body is my job and I have to take care of it."

(On the wide receivers room and being tight as a group) "We're very tight and I applaud the older guys for taking the younger guys in. They took us in with open arms and really helped us and guided us through the whole process of training camp. Its been kind of a crazy year with the pandemic and no rookie minicamp so everything is looking a little different this year but the leadership of the older guys, I really appreciate personally and also that room is run by Keenan McCardell; he's a legend so I'm fortunate to be taught by him each and every day and I don't take that for granted because he's played the game, he's played at the highest level, and now he's a coach so when he talks, I definitely listen."

(On seeing what the veteran wide receivers are doing to help teach the younger players) "I appreciate it and from college, I was the older guy being a senior, leading the younger receivers in the room at the University of Texas but when you go to the NFL, everything starts over and that's one thing my dad who played 10 years in the NFL always preached to me, that you're going to have to prove yourself each and every day, nobody cares what you did in the past, they care about what you're going to do for them today so I brought that mindset into camp and its definitely helped me. I'm always trying to get better each and every day but I appreciate the leadership of the older guys and I'm just going to continue to prove myself to gain their respect."

(On the emotions of leading into camp to where he is today) "A lot of emotions because I'm a real competitive guy just like all of us are as professional athletes. I've always been confident in my abilities and what I can do and the way my senior year went was far from what I had planned but again that's life, stuff like that happens. The true character of a man comes out when times are hard, not when times are easy. Everyday my senior year, I showed up and tried to be a good leader for my teammates and continue to improve whether people noticed it or not. I knew I would get an opportunity, whether it be in the first round, fifth round like I was, undrafted, I didn't know at the time but I knew I would get an opportunity and I believed in it. Once that phone rang and Coach Marrone called me and Mr. Caldwell called me and gave me an opportunity, that's literally all I could ask for and I was extremely thankful and each and every day I go out there with a chip on my shoulder trying to prove myself right."

(On if he felt overlooked coming out of college and falling to the fifth round of the draft) "As a competitor, you always feel like you're the best but sometimes things don't go as you had planned and at the end of the day, you just have to be process oriented instead of result oriented. I didn't let being drafted in the fifth round just kill my confidence, I just was thankful for an opportunity and like I said, all you can ask for is an opportunity and that's what I got and now basically its up to me to take advantage of that opportunity."

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