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Urban Meyer faces criticism from fans, media for practicing Travis Etienne at WR

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

Urban Meyer’s first offseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars is off to a rocky start.

First, Meyer signed Tim Tebow to a one-year deal, which one analyst said could “eviscerate” his credibility in the Jags’ locker room.

And now, Meyer is having first-round pick Travis Etienne work out at receiver instead of running back — his natural position.

“Worst case scenario, you have a running back that’s elite with receiver skills,” Meyer told the media on Saturday.

This comes shortly after the Jags drafted Etienne when Meyer said they were planning to use him as third down back.

Most fans and media aren’t excited about the experiment, especially considering the opportunity cost of taking a running back in the first round.

There’s also the matter of existing skill players who are already on the Jags’ roster. Jacksonville got great production out of rookie James Robinson last year, and rookie receiver Laviska Shenault also showed a lot of promise.

Shenault is a versatile receiver who caught 58 passes for 600 yards and five touchdowns despite shaky quarterback play last season. Robinson battled through being an undrafted free agent and carried the ball 240 times for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns.

Here’s some of the reaction to Meyer’s decision to have Etienne work out at receiver during rookie minicamp:

Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.