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Jerideau ready to chase NFL dream
By BRANTLEY STRICKLAND editor@lowcountry.com | Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 9:21 am
The San Diego Chargers are looking for an extra run-stopper to anchor the middle of their 3-4 defense. Former Colleton County High School and University of South Carolina standout Byron Jerideau, who was signed to a rookie free agent deal following the NFL Draft in April, wants a permanent gig in professional football. Due to leave for training camp July 23, Jerideau feels confident those two aspirations can mesh into a career as he spoke to the Press and Standard June 28 after an autograph appearance with the Colleton County Gamecock Club at Main Street Grille. Prior to the appearance, Jerideau had spent five weeks in San Diego, his indoctrination to pro football. “The first weekend we had three days of rookie mini camp, and then we jumped straight into OTA (Organized Team Activities) for three weeks,” said Jerideau, who is regarded as the strongest pound-for-pound player in South Carolina football history with a school-record bench press max of 500 pounds to go along with a 670-pound squat max. “We took a week to work out and then wrapped it up with a week of mini camp.” Jerideau, who graduated from USC in December with a degree in criminal justice, played in 31 games for the Gamecocks in his career, totaling 56 tackles, including six sacks and nine tackles for loss. He found the pace of his first NFL mini-camp was even more feverish than that of playing in the SEC. “It was pretty good,” Jerdieau said. “It was faster, but I’m getting the hang of it and learning the playbook.” The latter may be even more important than Jerideau’s physical performance at this stage. The Green Pond native said he’s put in plenty of time learning the Chargers’ scheme via his team-issued tablet computer that contains the team’s alignments and assignments. “We’ve got our I-pads, so I’ve just been hitting the plays,” Jerideau said. “I’m going to know the plays. It’s pretty simple. That’s the No. 1 way to get cut is to not know the plays.” The Chargers currently list just one defensive tackle (Cam Thomas) on its official depth chart. While Thomas (6-4, 330), a third-year player out of the University of North Carolina, is penciled in as the likely starter, Jerideau will likely found himself competing against another rookie, Georgia product Kwame Geathers (6-6, 335) for backup duties. Jerideau, Thomas and Geathers are the only three defensive tackles currently listed on San Diego’s roster. “They’ve only got one nose tackle,” Jerideau said. “They brought in me and Kwame as rookie free agents, so it’s between us for that No. 2 spot.” Chargers’ training camp gets underway June 24. That’s when Jerideau plans to prove he’s worthy of keeping his new No. 68 jersey. “That’s when we get at it,” said Jerideau, who has been working out at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia this summer with former teammate Travian Robertson and current Charger teammate Melvin Ingram. “Everything so far has been in helmets and shorts. It’s practice, but I don’t really consider it practice. When we get back and get those shoulder pads on, that’s when it’s going to go down.”
By BRANTLEY STRICKLAND editor@lowcountry.com | Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2013 9:21 am
The San Diego Chargers are looking for an extra run-stopper to anchor the middle of their 3-4 defense. Former Colleton County High School and University of South Carolina standout Byron Jerideau, who was signed to a rookie free agent deal following the NFL Draft in April, wants a permanent gig in professional football. Due to leave for training camp July 23, Jerideau feels confident those two aspirations can mesh into a career as he spoke to the Press and Standard June 28 after an autograph appearance with the Colleton County Gamecock Club at Main Street Grille. Prior to the appearance, Jerideau had spent five weeks in San Diego, his indoctrination to pro football. “The first weekend we had three days of rookie mini camp, and then we jumped straight into OTA (Organized Team Activities) for three weeks,” said Jerideau, who is regarded as the strongest pound-for-pound player in South Carolina football history with a school-record bench press max of 500 pounds to go along with a 670-pound squat max. “We took a week to work out and then wrapped it up with a week of mini camp.” Jerideau, who graduated from USC in December with a degree in criminal justice, played in 31 games for the Gamecocks in his career, totaling 56 tackles, including six sacks and nine tackles for loss. He found the pace of his first NFL mini-camp was even more feverish than that of playing in the SEC. “It was pretty good,” Jerdieau said. “It was faster, but I’m getting the hang of it and learning the playbook.” The latter may be even more important than Jerideau’s physical performance at this stage. The Green Pond native said he’s put in plenty of time learning the Chargers’ scheme via his team-issued tablet computer that contains the team’s alignments and assignments. “We’ve got our I-pads, so I’ve just been hitting the plays,” Jerideau said. “I’m going to know the plays. It’s pretty simple. That’s the No. 1 way to get cut is to not know the plays.” The Chargers currently list just one defensive tackle (Cam Thomas) on its official depth chart. While Thomas (6-4, 330), a third-year player out of the University of North Carolina, is penciled in as the likely starter, Jerideau will likely found himself competing against another rookie, Georgia product Kwame Geathers (6-6, 335) for backup duties. Jerideau, Thomas and Geathers are the only three defensive tackles currently listed on San Diego’s roster. “They’ve only got one nose tackle,” Jerideau said. “They brought in me and Kwame as rookie free agents, so it’s between us for that No. 2 spot.” Chargers’ training camp gets underway June 24. That’s when Jerideau plans to prove he’s worthy of keeping his new No. 68 jersey. “That’s when we get at it,” said Jerideau, who has been working out at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia this summer with former teammate Travian Robertson and current Charger teammate Melvin Ingram. “Everything so far has been in helmets and shorts. It’s practice, but I don’t really consider it practice. When we get back and get those shoulder pads on, that’s when it’s going to go down.”
Good catch FTO.
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