Touchdowns & Takeaways: David Long Jr., Gervarrius Owens team up for INT

Rookie Dru Phillips came in with a reputation as a nickel corner who isn’t afraid to get physical. So, it was his time to shine when the pads came on. Phillips showed his toughness on a run stop to kick off team work.

“I love it,” Phillips said. “Anytime you can play football and put the pads on, it just clicks something different inside most people, like me. It just amplifies it a lot more. I had so much fun out there today.”

Phillips was asked about the key to being a good run defender.

“I think the main thing is wanting to,” he said. “I’m glad we got pads on today because now you can actually go put your body on somebody. I feel like coming in here that’s one of the main reasons why they got me here is my physicality. Today something just sparked in me. If I go shoot, I’m going to hit somebody. My first rep in the backfield, coach was like, ‘You didn’t do enough.’ I thought it was a little thud-up, so then the second one I kind of went too hard. I think the main thing is just really just the will, you want to go do it. If you have that mentality, it’s going to happen every time.”

During one-on-one drills, Jones dropped a perfect pass between the second and third levels of the defense for a nice gain to Darius Slayton.

Drew Lock had a couple of nifty throws during a team period, including a sidearm pass through the outstretched arms of the defensive line for a completion to tight end Daniel Bellinger. The other was a shovel pass on the run to wide receiver Gunner Olszewski, who used his skills as a return specialist for a big gain.

Defensive lineman Jordon Riley, who came in as a raw prospect a year ago, stuffed a run.