Kassim Osgood got his first taste of Jacksonville during Monday's start of offseason conditioning.
"My allergies were kicking my butt," Osgood said. "I want to get acclimated to the weather, train in the humidity."
Osgood's move from the cool ocean breezes of San Diego to the stifling Florida heat he knows is just around the corner is being motivated by an opportunity he didn't have with the Chargers that he was promised to have with the Jaguars. Osgood, all 6-5, 220 pounds of him, wants to be more than a special teams star. He wants to be a legitimate NFL wide receiver.
That's the opportunity the Jaguars promised to give Osgood when they signed him early last month to a free-agent deal Osgood said was less about money and more about the chance to catch passes. He caught just three passes in the last three years.
"You want to contribute the most. In San Diego I felt I wasn't being utilized to capacity. Definitely, it was the opportunity," Osgood said.
What kind of role does he envision?
"I want to be a safety valve for the quarterback. He's scrambling and I want to be open; be the quarterback's living video game. I want to mix it all in. I want to learn it all and be able to do it all," he said.
He's met with Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter, looked at the playbook.
"There are a lot of similarities to what we ran in San Diego. I like the schemes here. They tailor them to your strengths. A lot of short and intermediate routes. Get the ball to the receiver and let him do what he does after the catch," Osgood said of what he's seen.
Osgood has also met with his position coach, Todd Monken.
"I like to work and I see he likes to push the tempo of work, so that's good. I want to learn the routes, learn the lingo." Osgood said. "It's a tight-knit group interested in winning. That came across right away. I like it. It's a nice place to play football."
Even when you have allergies.
