New York Jets’ Jaiquawn Jarrett is Working Hard and it Shows

Jun 14, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety Jaiquawn Jarrett (26) catches a pass during mini camp at the Philadelphia Eagles NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Other than at quarterback, one of the biggest competitions going on at Jets’ training camp is the position of safety. Antonio Allen and Josh Bush have not done enough to keep a stranglehold on the position, so it’s up for grabs. It looks like Dawan Landry will be starting at one of the positions. Who will start opposite him? One of the candidates is today’s focus, Jaiquawn Jarrett.

He looked excellent on Friday night, recording 3 tackles and 2 assists. He threw the body around on some plays, laying hits that could make people forget about LaRon Landry. It wasn’t lost on coach Ryan, who talked about Jaiquawn at practice yesterday:

Just a guy that is really dedicated to learning the defense, obviously a brand new defense for him. (He) spends a ton of time doing that. He’s worried about where he is at. He’s worried about how he plays when he gets out there. He just keeps (working) his tail off. Antonio Allen also, you go back and watch the tape, he played extremely well. That’s going to be a great competition. We had Jaiquawn running with the ones today, but again, that’s a great competition there.

Rex went on to answer a question about how Jaiquawn has improved from the past:

Well, we’re not really focused on what we saw on the Philadelphia tape. I just remember we really liked this young man when he came out of Temple. In fact, we thought we were going to be in great shape had we gotten Muhammad Wilkerson and Jaiquawn. So now we have those two. Might not have been the exact path but we ended up with both players. What he showed Friday night was what we thought he would bring to the table. A guy that is extremely physical, and a great tackler, and that’s exactly what he did. He had some big hits in that game. But he’s doing a tremendous job and I think he’s improving as a deeper defender as well.

Jaiquawn Jarrett talked about how he has approaches things in practice:

Just getting out there and getting better each day in practice, continuing to prepare as if I’m a starter or wherever I’m at on the depth chart, continue to prepare. (I have to) learn the defense in and out anyway, so no matter where I’m at on the depth chart, I want to make sure I continue to prepare.

It’s always great to listen to a player with a good head on his shoulders. He understands what his priorities should be, and seems to be showing up as an example every day. It’s even better when that play translates onto the field, which Jarrett’s play is.