Rams get first look at rookie class

St. Louis’ newest acquisitions invade Rams Park for rookie minicamp

Elisabeth Meinecke
FOX Sports Midwest

http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/st-louis-rams-rookies-arrive-looking-to-make-an-impression-and-get-acclimated-050815

ST. LOUIS — On Friday, 26 guys showed up for their first day of work at Rams Park.

The Rams’ 2015 draft class and rookie free agents fanned out over the indoor football field at the team’s practice facility, receiving instructions from coaches, executing drills and trying to prove they belonged on an NFL field.

“It’s kinda the same feeling as your first practice in college — you want to make a good impression,” said Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, who was drafted 89th overall last weekend. “So maybe the first couple routes, I was throwing it a little harder than I really needed to. But it wasn’t nervous. It’s fun to be out here, and back practicing.”

More than one rookie spent the week between last weekend’s draft and Friday’s workout prepping physically for the challenge. Linebacker Bryce Hager, one of two defensive players selected in the seventh round by St. Louis, tried to fit in a couple hours of conditioning and light lifting each day, with the goal of staying flexible and in shape.

“It’s a lot of running out here,” he said of the workouts, as the St. Louis humidity hung in the air. Fortunately, the city’s elevated temperature didn’t floor him — he played both college and high school ball in the Lone Star State.

“(I’m) used to the heat,” he said.

Missouri wide receiver Bud Sasser, who didn’t participate fully in the drills due to a pending physical, resumed his normal workouts the day after getting a call from the Rams. He worked out a couple times in the Dallas area with quarterback Bryce Petty, who was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round.

“We got some good work in,” Sasser said of their practices together, though he added the two didn’t really exchange tips other than a “best of luck” here and there.

Since arriving in St. Louis, the rookies haven’t had much time to explore their new city, but Mannion says he’s looking forward to it — and he already has an inside connection.

“That’s what’s exciting, too, is you’re moving into a new place, you want to kind of check it out,” he said. “I know (what’s) really nice for me is having (punter) Johnny Hekker here. We were teammates in college. Every person I talk to around the building just talks about Johnny non-stop, so hopefully he can show me the ropes when we have a little bit of time off.”

For those who don’t have a Hekker to guide them, Sasser might prove a good alternative. While at Mizzou, he’d make occasional trips to the city and has already participated in one of its biggest traditions: attending Cardinals games. He admitted, however, he doesn’t have a favorite Cards player — yet.

“I’ll have to find one,” he said.

Gurley dresses, does not participate

• The Rams’ first-round draft pick, Todd Gurley, was at Rams Park Friday, but did not participate fully in the drills as he continues rehabbing from a torn ACL.

“I would want to be back as soon as possible, but I’m not a doctor or a therapist, so I can’t really tell you when I’ll be back,” Gurley said. “I’m just taking it day by day.”

“There really aren’t too many numbers available. There’s 39, which is SJ’s number. I’m definitely not going to touch that,” Gurley said. “I respect him. I wouldn’t do that.”

Actually if SJ takes an interest, TG could learn a lot from him.

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Howard Balzer ‏@HBalzer721

Some inside building at Rams Park have described the drafted offensive linemen as “refrigerators with legs.”

Noting that Jaguars DE Dante Fowler Jr. was injured in 11-on-11, full-speed pass-rush drill, Jeff Fisher said, ..”Our philosophy is not to put them in that position for a couple weeks.”

Sixth-round WR Bud Sasser still not practicing because of an issue with his physical. Rams say going through some additional testing.

Sasser claims he doesn’t know what is the issue: “I have no idea. I’m not sure what’s wrong.”

Rams UDFA DT Louis Trinca-Pasaty received $25,000 guaranteed: $15,000 bonus and $10,000 guaranteed salary.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said team was “involved” in talks with OL La’el Collins and said they were told “we were in the final four.”

Fisher said they “still had some unanswered questions,” but probably would have been more involved had they not had success in the draft.

Rookie OL stand out for Rams

Nate Latsch

http://stl.scout.com/story/1545248-rookie-ol-stand-out-for-rams?s=124

ST. LOUIS — It wasn’t hard to notice the Rams’ five new offensive linemen during their rookie orientation program on Friday and Saturday.

“It’s hard not to look at the four offensive linemen we drafted and say, ‘Wow,’” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday when asked if any of the rookie caught his eye. “Somebody said yesterday they look like refrigerators with legs. It’s a good-looking group and they’re moving around pretty good.”

Seeking to renovate the offensive line this offseason, Fisher and general manager Les Snead invested four draft picks on the offensive front after signing tackle-guard Garrett Reynolds to a free-agent deal and re-signing reserve center Tim Barnes.

They used a second-round pick on Wisconsin right tackle Rob Havenstein, a third-round pick on Louisville’s Jamon Brown, a fourth-rounder on Andrew Donnal from Iowa and a sixth-round pick on guard Cody Wichmann from Fresno State.

Those four were joined at rookie orientation by undrafted free agent Darrell Williams, a left tackle from South Florida.

Williams worked at left tackle over the two days of on-field work, with Donnal at left guard, Wichmann at center, Brown at right guard and Havenstein at his customary right tackle spot.

The five rookies represented a larger group than Fisher’s Rams have had in the past few seasons, but they were able to get plenty of reps on the field.

“It’s great work for them,” Fisher said. “The Iowa offensive system, the Wisconsin offensive system are probably more closer to what we do. Fresno State, Cody (Wichmann) is well-coached. We’re really excited about Jamon (Brown) because he’s got tremendous athletic ability. I don’t think it’s going to be a long time for the four of them to catch on to the techniques and things and what not.”

With only two starters returning from last season in left tackle Greg Robinson and veteran guard Rodger Saffold, it’s possible the Rams could start two of the rookie linemen this season if the team doesn’t re-sign starting right tackle Joe Barksdale.

Havenstein, a 6-foot-7, 321-pounder, could open the season as the team’s right tackle, though Saffold could move back to that spot and Reynolds has experience after starting four games at that position for the Detroit Lions last year.

Brown, a 6-4, 323-pounder, could start at one of the guard spots opposite Saffold after playing tackle at Louisville. Donnal and Wichmann will also go into training camp competing for one of those guard spots, along with veterans like Brandon Washington.

The Rams have made no secret of the fact that they want to be a physical team and run the football. The upheaval along the front line — where Jake Long and Scott Wells were released and Barksdale and Davin Joseph remain unsigned free agents — speaks to the changes needed to make that a reality.

Now the issue is how quickly players like Havenstein and Brown can become contributors and earn starting spots. They certainly look the part and have plenty of experience from their college careers. This weekend’s rookie orientation was just the beginning.

Rams Getting Rookies up to Speed

By Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Getting-Rookies-up-to-Speed/a3540569-49a4-40f8-a28d-dce52ae0a85d

The Rams 2015 rookie class took the field for the first time on Friday and Saturday, with 26 drafted, undrafted, and tryout players. In a way, it’s like the first few days of school in that the young players are having initial meetings with their coaches and fellow rookie teammates. And with the way head coach Jeff Fisher likes to run things, it’s a time to get the young players caught up to the veterans in the overall offseason program.

“Nowhere in the building are you going to see anything that says, ‘rookie minicamp.’ We call it orientation,” Fisher said. “We’ve talked to [the rookies] about this — it’s not their fault. They are not in the same condition that the vets are because the vets, many of them were in before the start of the offseason program.”

Fisher added that the Rams will not have the rookies lift with the veterans for a while, and will not have them on the field together until Thursday. The head coach said the team stressed the importance of not going faster than three-quarter speed to reduce the risk of injury.

“We’re combining walk-thrus and meetings,” Fisher said of the rookie program. “We’ve got to get the fitness part going, so it’s the weight room, it’s player development, it’s football — it’s just everything. It’s diet, it’s flexibility. We find out where they are so we can start off appropriately next week.”

One of the four offensive linemen the Rams selected in the draft, Andrew Donnal said that the way the club runs orientation is beneficial to the players’ development.

“It’s a lot of stuff, but the nice part is that this is all we do right now,” he said. “It’s all football. We’re not in college anymore so we don’t have school. We don’t have any other distractions. It’s all football all the time, so we have plenty of time to get the material down.”

Focusing solely on football is helpful in that there is a lot the rookies must do to settle in. There’s the obvious “speed of the game,” which rookies cite as a significant change from college to the pros year after year. The Rams 2015 rookie class is no different.

“Anytime you jump up a level, the speed of the game is going to be faster — something to adjust to, get used to,” offensive lineman Rob Havenstein said. “Obviously, I haven’t done it to this point. So I’m looking forward to learning from that and just trying to be a better football player.”

“We’re just dealing with fresh-out-of-college guys, and it still seems faster because these are all top-notch players,” offensive lineman Cody Wichmann said. “I can only imagine when the big dogs come in here.”

But there is more to it than that. Players are not only getting used to a new environment and new system, but also a different timeframe when it comes to understanding technique.

“They expect you to pick up on things quicker than when you were in college,” offensive lineman Jamon Brown said. “In college, you slow it down, they kind of walk you through a lot more things. But out here, they show you it, and they expect you to be able to soak it in and apply it to the drills.”

There’s also the terminology and technique aspect of adjusting, and some players have more of an advantage. Fisher cited Donnal and Havenstein as two examples because the Iowa and Wisconsin offensive systems are similar to what St. Louis employs. Quarterback Sean Mannion is in a like position, given his experience at Oregon State.

“I know just learning the offense, it wasn’t my first time with certain protections, it wasn’t my first time with certain patterns,” he said of his first couple of days at Rams Park. “But the detail that goes into every little aspect of each play is just so much higher. There’s always tons and tons of things to be sharp on, to learn about, so that way the offense can run at a high level.”

While it’s much too early in the process to come away with any conclusions, Fisher said the O-line has caught his eye. In addition to the four draft picks — Havenstein, Brown, Donnal, and Cody Wichmann — the Rams brought in Darrell Williams as an undrafted free agent.

“It’s hard not to look at the four offensive linemen we drafted and say, ‘Wow,’” Fisher said. “Somebody said yesterday they look like refrigerators with legs. It’s a good looking group and they’re moving around pretty good.”

Now that they’re in St. Louis, Fisher said the Rams rookies will be in town through the duration of the offseason program.

“The draft choices are here through the symposium, which is June 22,” Fisher said. “They’re here. We’ve got them.”