Jeff Heuerman played on college football’s biggest stage. His spring games attracted more fans than the Jacksonville Jaguars pull in on Sundays. First-class facilities. Indoor practice fields. Heuerman lived it at The Ohio State.
Yet, that doesn’t mean he didn’t experience an abrupt transition to the NFL during Friday’s first Broncos rookie mini camp practice in the team’s fieldhouse.
“I would say the biggest difference is just the pro-style offense. I have never been in a huddle before, so I guess start there,” Heuerman said, with a laugh. “We were all signals in college and high school. The huddle is cool. I go opposite of the quarterback.”
Heuerman shows a sense of humor with a desire to learn. He played hurt last season in a grinder role to help the Buckeyes win the national championship. He has impressed coach Gary Kubiak in his short time at Dove Valley.
“I like his work habits. He’s very smart. He’s played in a big program, so nothing is too big of stage for him, you can tell,” Kubiak said. “He’s got a bright future. We’re expecting a lot out of him.”
Line’em up Rookies offer caution: don’t believe the type. Despite stellar collegiate careers, most don’t make impacts in their first seasons. In second-rounder Ty Sambrailo and fourth-rounder Max Garcia, the Broncos anticipate both challenging to start. Sambrailo shifted around at Friday’s practice but will focus on right tackle, which currently features Chris Clark atop the depth chart.
“I don’t think it will be too bad,” Sambrailo said of the learning curve. “A lot of it’s the same stuff that we ran up at CSU, a lot of outside zone. So it’s the same techniques and ideas. It’s just learning verbiage.”
Garcia is practicing at right guard. He will also see reps at center, where Gino Gradkowski and Matt Paradis are in the mix.
The best piece of advice he’s received since arriving in Denver.
“Coach Kubiak actually said, ‘You got here for a reason, and it’s because you do something well, so stick to that,'” Garcia said
Motivational sayings Kubiak showed clips to the rookies of running back Terrell Davis making a special teams impact in his first preseason. It was a reminder that there are unlikely paths to the roster.
“I told there there is going to be a story coming out of this room. Somebody is going to jump up and become a player that maybe not many people know about. I don’t know who it’s going to be,” Kubiak said. “But it’s a big, big opportunity and a big two days for these guys.”
Footnotes Garcia’s welcome-to-the-NFL moment came when he received a text from Peyton Manning after he was drafted. “I just looked at my phone for 10 minutes. I was like, ‘Wow, I just got a text from Peyton Manning.” … Kubiak counted on a pair of practice squaders to set the tone for Friday’s workout: “I told the young guys, ‘You watch Matt (Paradis) practice. You watch (receiver) Bennie (Fowler). You can just tell the difference.”
