Travis Hunter is the talk of the town after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to select him second overall in the NFL Draft. However, he's far from the only pick they made that should have an immediate impact. Defensive back Caleb Ransaw has the skillset to earn a role early in the rookie season. His former college head coach just came to bat for him and had nothing to good things to say about him.
Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall made an appearence on 1010 XL and said that Ransaw can play anywhere the Jags want him to, pointing out that he's got the intelligence and athleticism to pull it off.
"He has the physical tools to play all five, he's a 195-pound-plus guy who runs a 4.3ish 40. But then on top of it, has really really high football IQ," Sumrall said when discussing what position Ransaw will play for the Jaguars. "He, a year ago, had a little infection. He had to have an overnight stay at the hospital just to take an antibiotic to clear up an infection quick. That was sort of like a viral deal. And when he was in there, I walk in to go check on him one night, and he's got his iPad out, and he's watching every draftable DB for this draft that just happened on PFF."
Sumrall continued, "He's watching all their clips and all the guys that got high rankings. He is a football junkie. The guy loves the game. He's ate up with it, and I'll tell you a great story the Friday night a week before the draft, where he got drafted one week ahead of the second and third-round night. That Friday night, one week earlier. I'm leaving the office at seven o'clock, and I walk out on one of our little mini practice fields here, and Caleb's out there doing DB drills with a younger DB."
"He's working on footwork and just kind of movement pattern stuff that a DB needs to have at seven o'clock on a Friday night. And so I don't know how many guys at seven o'clock on Friday night, or after college, practicing a week ahead of getting drafted, but that just shows you how much he loves football and loves his development."
The Jaguars selected Ransaw with pick 89. At 5'11 and 197 pounds, he might need to bulk up a bit to play safety in the NFL but certainly has the skillset to make the transition successfully.
The Jaguars are counting on Caleb Ransaw to make an immedita impact
After Day 3 of the draft, general manager James Gladstone told the local media that the team leverages prospects willing to do more than what the norm might be. Based on Jon Sumrall's anecdote, Caleb Ransaw fits the bill.
Having mostly played cornerback at Tulane, Ransaw will get a shot at safety because of his tackle ratio. Of course, the coaching staff won't limit him to one position and will surely take advantage of his versatility to deploy him everywhere in the defensive backfield.
Of course, there's a chance that Ransaw won't pull off the transition or make an impact as a rookie. But if the Jaguars didn't think he was capable of pulling it off, they wouldn't have drafted him to begin with. If anything, they should feel great about the pick after listening to his former head coach vouch for him.