IRVING, Texas — It's difficult to get much out of watching players run around a football field with no pads on, but one play Saturday morning at Valley Ranch got everyone's attention.
Undrafted rookie free agent Kendial Lawrence, a running back out of Missouri, and third-round draft pick J.J. Wilcox, a safety out of Georgia Southern, collided during 11-on-11 drills. Lawrence bounced a carry to the outside where Wilcox was waiting, instead of slowing up, neither player gave an inch, which resulted in both being knocked to the ground.
"Coach [Monte] Kiffin tells me to play fast and that's what happens when you play fast, everybody's trying to make a good first impression," Wilcox said. "I felt it a little bit. We got no pads on and he's a pretty big guy running the ball, so it was a good collision."
Wilcox is 6-foot, 219 pounds and Lawrence is 5-foot-9, 196 pounds. According to Wilcox, none of the coaches said anything to him about lowering his shoulder and making a tackle.
"I'm a rookie, second day at camp so they figure, 'Hey, he don't know no better, but next time he does it …' I'll probably get in trouble for it," he said.
Wilcox has been on both sides of those types of hits in the past. Heading into his senior year of college, the 22-year-old was asked to switch from running back to safety. Although hesitant at first, Wilcox realizes it was the best decision for his professional career.
"It turned out pretty good, I'm here now," he said. "I thank my coach every day for making the transition."
With some uncertainty at the safety position, Wilcox expects to compete for a starting spot. His top competition will likely come from Barry Church, who missed the majority of the 2012 season after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon, and Matt Johnson, a fourth-round pick in 2012 who missed the entire season with hamstring injuries.
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
