Rookie Jurgens should get every chance to storm-chase his dream
Eagles rookie center Cam Jurgens knows how to keep everyone safe.
Ten minutes before the Eagles took Jurgens off the board in the second round of the NFL draft, the lifelong resident of tiny Pickrell, Neb., and family and friends were on the lookout for tornadoes.
“Oh my God, it was wild, man,” Jurgens said during a two-day rookie camp. “Everybody’s phone starting buzzing. We’re in a tornado warning and everybody’s phone is going off for that. I get picked and we’re upstairs celebrating and all of a sudden we hear this loud thunder and lightning outside. And I’m like, ‘Alright guys, we’ve got to go downstairs now.”
The night could have been a disaster because grandmom refused to go downstairs even after offers of help.
“I think I’ll remember that for a long time,” Jurgens said. “Excitement and then all of a sudden chaos of a tornado and thunder and lightning and hail coming in. It was crazy.”
For the record, Granny stayed upstairs. But Jurgens was ready to help her to safety in the cellar if necessary.
Of course, storytelling is just one of the boxes Jurgens checked as he prepares to succeed 34-year-old pivot Jason Kelce.
Jurgens (6-3, 290) made it clear his approach is that he’s going to play this season, although obviously that’s unlikely to happen at center unless Kelce is hurt. Kelce has started 122 straight games.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni think Jurgens can play guard as well, which could be interesting because it’s widely believed that veteran Isaac Seumalo would fill the opening at right guard, providing he’s all the way back from a season-ending Lisfranc sprain in his foot.
“I’m a football player and I’m a soldier so if you tell me to do something I’m going to do it,” Jurgens said. “It’s kind of what I came in to do, is play football. Guard or wherever I’m up for it, that’s kind of how I’m approaching it. I want to go in expecting to play right away. I don’t want to approach it like it’s a redshirt year because you never know when something is going to happen.”
Jurgens already has been impacted by another All-Pro. Former Niners offensive tackle Joe Staley put the offensive linemen through their paces at the NFL scouting combine.
“I loved working with Joe,” Jurgens said. “The mentality he has is there’s a lot of ways to block someone but at the end of the day you’ve got to be an athlete. You’ve got to get hour job done. He taught you how to win blocks.”
As for the tornado warnings, Jurgens says his family, neighbors and friends get them all the time because they’re in the tornado alley of Nebraska. A few have blown through Pickrell, population 247 according to the most recent census.
“We’ve had a few go through,” Jurgens said. “We had one take all our shingles off the house. But our house is still standing. I feel like a meteorologist up here today guys. This is great.”
His audience laughing, Jurgens couldn’t help but add another line.
“When I was in California,” he said, “I got a Tsunami warning. I’m like, what the hell is this?”
The Eagles signed first-round pick Jordan Davis and sixth-rounders Kyron Johnson and Grant Calcaterra.
Davis, one of a record five Georgia Bulldogs defensive players selected in the first round, inked a fully guaranteed four-year, $17 million contract per ESPN.
Linebacker Johnson (Kansas) and tight end Calcaterra (SMU) signed four-year deals.
The 6-6, 340-pound Davis confirmed that his mother soon will fly up to Philly to help him get situated. The big defensive tackle is proud of the strong relationship they have and looks forward to helping her enjoy Mother’s Day this weekend.
“I’m a mama’s boy; I didn’t have a choice,” Davis said. “I still call my dad but my mom really stuck it through and we’ve been together since I was born. A lot of people aren’t fortunate enough to have their moms in their life and I’m grateful
for that. Mother’s Day is super important to me and I’m sure it’s super important to her.”
The Eagles also signed undrafted rookie quarterback Carson Strong, cornerbacks Josh Blackwell, Mario Goodrich and Josh Jobe, safety Reed Blankenship, running back Kennedy Brooks and wide receiver Britain Covey.
Also inked were offensive linemen William Dunkle, Jarrid Williams and Josh Sills, defensive tackle Noah Elliss and linebacker Ali Fayad.
Sirianni tempered his early evaluation of Strong, who 32 teams passed over for seven straight rounds.
Head coach Nick Sirianni liked the way Strong (6-4, 215), who is coming off two
knee surgeries was able to call plays, proof that he studied the playbook.
“I thought he did a good job today,” Sirianni said. “He was really sharp. He knew what to do. He knew where to go with the football. And he’s got a big arm. We definitely can see that. Those are tools to work with. His size and his arm strength is noticeable when he’s out there.”
NOTES » Sirianni said the Eagles have had “really good attendance” but not full attendance at the early voluntary workouts. … Calcaterra didn’t have a dramatic story to tell from his days as an EMT. “I got hired as an EMT and I decide to come back to football the day before my first day,” Calcaterra said. “So, I never started training or anything.”