Moments after the Jaguars made him their second-round draft choice, Eben Britton gave a fire and brimstone reaction to the media.
"I couldn't be happier," Britton said of being selected by the Jaguars. "Every team that passed on me is going to regret it for the history of those franchises because I'm going to work my (butt) off to be a Jacksonville Jaguar."
Tonight, in front of what might be the Jaguars' only "sellout" crowd of the 2009 season, Britton will have an opportunity to put his intensity on display in what has become the highlight of training camp, the annual Oklahoma drill.
Britton, the highest-drafted rookie offensive lineman in camp, will go against defensive end Derrick Harvey, the eighth pick of the 2008 draft. If this year's eighth-overall pick, Eugene Monroe, wasn't absent from camp, he would be matched against Harvey. The mantle falls to Britton.
"I'm going to make somebody pay," Britton said on draft day. "When that first game comes, somebody is going to pay for it. People told me I wasn't big enough, I wasn't strong enough. That all ends today."
Britton smiles at the mention of his draft-day oratory, but he says he hasn't softened his attitude. "Not one bit," he said as the Jaguars left the field following Wednesday morning's practice.
"It's fun," he said of the Oklahoma drill. "This is football at its purest; guys getting riled up and excited. In old-school football, that was a go-to drill."
The Oklahoma pits blocker against defender in a confined area. The blocker's intent is to move the defender so the running back may pass. The defender's intent is to defeat the block and stop the ball-carrier.
Harvey did not participate in last summer's Oklahoma. Harvey wasn't signed to a contract until training camp had passed.
Two other expected matchups will pit guard Uche Nwaneri against third-round defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, and veteran right tackle Tony Pashos against undrafted rookie defensive end Julius Williams. There will be other matchups.
Britton is said to have had his best practice as a Jaguar on Tuesday night. His game is in ascent as he heads into tonight's Oklahoma drill.
"I'm really just trying to get better every day. My entire focus has been on learning the playbook," he said on Wednesday.
The Oklahoma isn't about the playbook. The assignment is very basic: Defeat the guy across from you. It's a drill tailor-made for big guys with nasty attitudes.
"There's nobody in this draft that has a bigger heart than I do. I'm so fired up to be a Jacksonville Jaguar you can't even believe it," Britton said on draft day.
It's the perfect attitude for the Oklahoma.
"I think I've seen a start to some of the grit and determination we need to have in our front. We'll have the Oklahoma and some nine-on-seven's," coach Jack Del Rio said of Wednesday evening's practice, which begins at seven p.m. at the Jaguars' Jacksonville Municipal Stadium practice fields. Parking and admission are free.
The Oklahoma is all about grit and determination. It's a drill that's used as a tone-setter for training camp. It could give fans a peek at the effort they can expect from the Jaguars in 2009.
