The news the football world has been waiting to hear (well, at least in North East Florida): rookie quarterback Jake Luton will take reps with the ones this week for the Jaguars and start against the Texans. Coming off a bye week in which the Jaguars learned that their starting quarterback Gardner Minshew has fractured bones and a strained ligament in his throwing hand, the biggest question facing the Jaguars was who would take snaps when they host the Texans in week nine. Monday afternoon Doug Marrone told local media that Luton would get the reps in practice and said that there's really nothing the rookie from Oregon State could do in practice to deter the Jaguars' head coach from trotting him out onto the field in week nine. Luton impressed the coaching staff during training camp but has been inactive on game days to this point in the season. The Jaguars had instead activated veteran Mike Glennon.
But at this point in the season, with a 1-6 record, Marrone understands that he needs to see what he has in the rookie quarterback from Oregon State. The 6'6'', 224-pound quarterback will take his first in-season reps with the starters and will make his first appearance in an NFL game this Sunday. Marrone said he thinks Luton "has a high ceiling." Luton posted an impressive 28 touchdown passes to just three interceptions in his final year at Oregon State. He completed 62% of his passes and registered a passer rating of 149.8. Will Luton jump-start the offense like Gardner Minshew did in 2019? The answer will begin to come into focus this Sunday at 1 pm. Doug Marrone did not provide a time table for Gardner Minshew's return. When asked if Minshew would retain his starting role when healthy, Marrone would not commit, saying, "we're 1-6, we gotta see what this kid (Luton) can do. And if this kid comes in and plays extremely well, then what? Then you're gonna say, 'how come you're going to bench him and play the other kid?' I just think it's common sense. I think opportunities create themselves, and if he (Luton) does well, then we'll see where we're going and make that decision when the time comes." Follow Jordan on Twitter for all the latest Jaguars news and analysis. |
