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Jacksonville Jaguars' Grant Udinski explains why he's excited to work with Trevor Lawrence
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- Jacksonville Jaguars' Grant Udinski explains why he's excited to work with Trevor Lawrence
The Jacksonville Jaguars have their full staff . Liam Coen and company have taken another step in preparing for the season.
On Thursday, the new coordinators got a chance to speak with local media for the first time since being hired.
Jacksonville Jaguars coordinator Grant Udinski speaks with media on Thursday from the Miller Electric Center.
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Grant Udinski , the 29-year-old offensive coordinator, spoke about Trevor Lawrence , his excitement to work with Coen and how to help Jacksonville's run game.
He also described the time spent with Kevin O'Connell and how he envisions Brian Thomas Jr.
On if he had any doubts about coming here even though he wouldn't be a play-caller ?
"This is a phenomenal opportunity to work with the guys here, the staff here, the organization here. So, once I found out about this opportunity, I probably don't have enough words to describe how fired up I was to be able to work with Liam [Head Coach Liam Coen] and the rest of the staff. I know that element, that part of it, the play calling won't be a part of my role, but I'm looking forward to support and help the team win in any way I can."
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On why he wanted to work with Liam Coen ?
"Not just his track record, but what he's done with quarterbacks, what he's done with offense, what he's done in the run game, the pass game. There is an added benefit of us seeing things similarly, philosophically or schematically. But in terms of the football stuff, there's a wide array of things that I can learn from him and hopefully that I can bring to him and add to this team and to our offense.
"But from the football side of it, we see things very similarly in terms of how we want to do things and how we want to attack things philosophically, talk about being fundamentally sound, talk about attacking on offense, situational masters, and most importantly being tough. So, having that shared identity and that kind of shared vision, that alignment from the top all the way down throughout our staff is a big deal to me and I know it's a big deal to us collectively."
On his impressions of Trevor Lawrence ?
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
"I don't have enough words to explain how excited I am for the opportunity to work with him. The relationship side of it is something that takes time, not just me getting to know him, but him getting to know me. This is a collaborative process. There are no dictatorships or anything like that in this business or on our team, just like we're collaborative as a staff or collaborative with our players.
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"So ultimately, if the players come first, 'players over plays,' like Liam's probably told you guys a number of times. And if that's true, then we have to be willing to go above and beyond and do whatever it takes to put them in the best position for success, and part of that is committing the time and effort and resources to forming those relationships."
On his tenure with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell?
"I think that's something that he does at a really high level and the results kind of speak for itself with him and the success he's had there in Minnesota , and even prior to that. And then on top of that, my role, I was in a very fortunate position to be with him and spend so much time with him.
"Seeing the connector that he is and the type of person that he is and the impact that he has on people's lives, not just in the meeting room and with us as coaches or with the players, but even beyond with the entire organization from everybody in that building or everyone that walks through that building feels his impact and his presence and the culture that he's set there. That pays dividends and kind of has a ripple effect beyond his immediate reach."
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His thoughts on wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and his skillset ?
"Yeah, excitement. Once again, so probably that would be the same thing I answered for probably 10 of these questions as excitement overall. Like we talked about with the players and the opportunity to work with these guys, he's one of the guys where you watch the tape and it's hard to stay seated watching his tape.
"Just in terms of the excitement and the tools and the ability that he has and the potential there for, you saw the results this year, but the potential for growth beyond this year and the different ways you can use him to attack defenses in a multitude of ways."
On how to fix Jacksonville's rushing game?
"We want to be a complete offense in the sense that we have the ability to attack defenses in a variety of ways, whether that is in the run game or the pass game or screen game, whatever that may be. You need to kind of have all the tools in the bag and then find the way to make those players, to take those tools and fit them to the players that you have.
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"So, it comes down to how can we take what our guys execute, what our guys execute well, and put those players in the best position for success. So, the run game is a piece of that without a doubt because we never want to become one-dimensional. We always want to be dictating and having the ability to run the ball and run on our terms and be attacking like I talked about earlier, kind of predicated on the ability to do that down in and down out."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars OC Grant Udinski talks Trevor Lawrence, BTJ
