Alijah Vera-Tucker is excited to be practicing in front of NY Jets fans
If you thought the New York Jets‘ newest rookie offensive lineman was shy, guess again.
Rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker did his best to hype up the fans in Florham Park, NJ Saturday afternoon prior to a late July session, per the Jets official Twitter account.
THIS ENERGY FROM @ALIJAHVT pic.twitter.com/6DSKwhyoBx
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 31, 2021
Vera-Tucker, 22, projects to start at left guard for his new employer. Drafted 14th overall in the first round of this past year’s NFL draft, most professional football pundits consider the USC product a can’t-miss offensive line prospect.
Standing 6-foot-4 and tipping the scales at 308 pounds, many believe Vera-Tucker will fit right into Mike LaFleur‘s east-west zone-rushing attack. The kid’s incredibly athletic for his size and handles unique situations well—something rookie offensive linemen oftentimes struggle with at the next level.
Perhaps most intriguing is the idea that Vera-Tucker can play right tackle in a pinch if asked. New York hopes that desperate situation never comes to pass, but it’s a nice thing to have in the back pocket.
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Finally, NY Jets fans get to watch their team
Saturday’s open training camp marked the first time Jets fans watched their team live in and living color.
Last year’s pandemic forced fans to remain home for every Jets camp session, as well as each regular-season home game. Although some stadiums opened up to fans later during the season—depending on state guidelines at a given time—New Jersey never reached that point.
This meant tailgating had to wait a year. It meant home-field advantage was no more. The unpredictable and complicated year also snapped many Jets fan streaks, i.e. Connie Carberg’s annual trip to Northern New Jersey to watch her beloved Jets.
Now that the wait is finally over, New York Jets fans are all over opportunities to get a glimpse of the new regime and roster—as evidenced by how quickly training camp tickets sold out after the initial announcement that several dates would be open to the public.
The team’s next public training camp date open to the fans is Monday, Aug. 2.
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