In the last 24 hours, video evidence on Twitter has surfaced of two Buffs alums — 2020 second round draft pick Laviska Shenault and Devin Ross, who originally joined the Tennessee Titans as an rookie free agent in 2018 before signing to New England's practice squad last October — making solid catches early at their respective team's training camp.
Shenault has quickly impressed Jags quarterback and Pac-12 alumni Gardner Minshew, who recalled Shenault's prowess from their Washington State/Colorado matchups back in the day and is seeing it live at the NFL training camp level.
''Laviska is a freak, man," MInshew told the Florida Times-Union's John Reid. I knew it when we played him at Colorado. He’s a lot better route runner, a lot better at catching the ball than I even expected.''
Jaguars wideouts coach Keenan McCardell has also been impressed with Shenault thus far.
"I see a lot of power — (he's a) strong runner after the catch; he reminds me a little of Anquan Boldin after the catch (in) the way he gets in and out of his breaks and the way he breaks tackles on film — I saw that. Now, being up close with him, he has the power of Andre Johnson. I hold Andre in high regard — we're good friends — but I've also seen (Shenault) work every day, seen the power that he has."
"He reminds me a little of Andre — he has that power. I don't want to put those shoes out there for him, because those huge shoes to fill, but he has that kind of body type. I'm looking forward to seeing this kid play. I recruited him when I was at Maryland. I know who he is, I know where he comes from, I know what kind of football player he is — he's kind of quiet, but it means a lot to him and I appreciate that."
Below are McCarell's full remarks on Shenault plus a recent connection between he and Minshew.
As for Ross, who just turned 25, he appears to be on the best trajectory of his young NFL career to make a 53-man roster, which he has yet to do since originally joining the Titans in 2018.
Ross was released by Tennessee a few times and then joined the Philadelphia Eagles, who released him in the summer of 2019 after signing him in late May.
The Patriots signed him to their practice squad that October.
Early into New England's camp, Ross has made a string of impressive catches that have caught the eye of Bill Belichick.
“Devin’s a hardworking kid,” Belichick told reporters during a Zoom call on Wednesday morning. “I think when we got him last year, I’m not sure that he was 100 percent healthy. He was healthy, but I think he’s gained — plus he’s had an offseason (in the Patriots’ system). Even though it’s not been supervised in the building, it’s still been supervised training.
“I think that he’s improved from this year to last year. We’ll see how things go here, but yeah, he looks like he’s ready to go and ready to compete, and we’ll see how that all comes together.”
Ross and Pats' QB Brian Hoyer have connected on a few deep balls, including this one:
As NESN's Zack Cox noted in his Wednesday morning practice report, a few releases of fellow WRs this week plus absences at practice from 2020 first round draft pick N'Keal Harry and veteran Julian Edelman, Ross has shined bright lately and is positioning himself to be a serious contender for a roster spot.
"Every time I come out of the huddle, I come to the line with the mindset nobody can cover me, nobody can guard me," Ross told reporters on Wednesday. "I've always played that way...I've got that chip on my shoulder."
Ross has yet to appear in an NFL game but in camp has notably beaten a number of Pats DBs, including 11-year veteran Jason McCourty and New England 2019 second round draft pick Joejuan Williams.
Either way, Shenault is doing exactly what was expected of him as he's regained full health while Ross' trajectory appears to be upward — perhaps the most since he has competed in the NFL.
Join the conversation on Shenault and Ross at Buff Nation, the premiere message board community serving countless CU fanatics.
