ST JOHNS, Fla. -- A daily review of the hot topics coming out of Jacksonville Jaguars training camp:
After an impressive performance by the quarterbacks and receivers on Sunday, the defense rebounded with a strong day in the Jaguars’ practice at Bartram Trail High School. There were two interceptions -- defensive tackle Roy Miller made a diving catch after Chris Clemons deflected Chad Henne's pass and undrafted rookie Rashaad Reynolds snared an errant throw by Stephen Morris and returned it for a TD -- and four pass breakups (including deflections by Clemons and defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks) during 11-on-11. “The other day the offense really came off the ball and did a good job at establishing the line of scrimmage,” coach Gus Bradley said. “The defense came back and said, ‘Alright, not tonight, not tonight.’ They attacked it like that. It went back-and-forth overall, but the defense, I thought, came out really spirited.”
Second-year cornerback Demetrius McCray continues to impress while working with the first unit in pace of Alan Ball (ankle). He had another pass breakup in one-on-one drills on Monday. He’s an intriguing player because of his size (6-foot, 185 pounds) and length. If he continues to develop, the Jaguars are going to have an interesting situation after the season. Ball, whom Bradley says may return on Wednesday, has played well as the starter opposite Dwayne Gratz but his contract expires after the season. The team drafted Aaron Colvin in the fourth round despite a torn ACL and the expectation is he would be ready to become the starter in 2015. But McCray may be an option. If neither appears to be ready, the Jaguars may opt to re-sign Ball.
Backup tight end Clay Harbor suffered a strained calf and will miss at least several days. He’s the primary backup to Marcedes Lewis and the team’s only flex tight end. He caught 24 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Jaguars. This will mean more opportunities for undrafted rookies Reggie Jordan, Marcel Jensen, and Brandon Barden. D.J. Tialavea, another undrafted rookie, is out with a quad strain.
The Jaguars announced an attendance of 3,239 at Bartram Trail High School, the biggest crowd to watch a training camp practice so far. ... The Jaguars are off on Tuesday and will return to the practice field at 9:55 a.m. ET Wednesday. ... One of the highlights of what was a relatively uneventful practice came during a water break, when Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee tried to hit mascot Jaxson de Ville, who was hanging from the crossbar. He took two playful shots at him but missed both times. ... Here are the QB stats from 11-on-11: Henne was 3-for-8 with an interception; Blake Bortles was 3-for-7; Morris was 3-for-7 with an interception, and Ricky Stanzi was 2-for-2.