Jets' rookie CB Kyle Wilson gets solid reviews
He had come off the field from his third NFL practice only a few moments before, yet Kyle Wilson already felt a little different.
"It's really a sense of going to work,"
Wilson said Saturday, in between practices of the second day of the Jets' three-day rookie minicamp. "You've got to carry yourself as a professional [and] get the right amount of sleep at night. Take care of your body and really focus when you come in and step through those doors, and [do that] off the field as well."
The Jets' first-round pick from Boise State hasn't generated the national buzz the team's first-round pick did last year. But as with quarterback Mark Sanchez, coach Rex Ryan has high expectations for the cornerback.
"He's coming in here to be a starting nickel on the best defense in football,"
Ryan said. "I think he's going to be great."
As does secondary coach Dennis Thurman. Ryan noted that Thurman was telling the offensive coaches, "You [had] better leave that guy alone"
and not challenge him.
Thurman "says the same thing about [Darrelle] Revis,"
Ryan said. "We're not going to compare Kyle to Revis, but he's a tremendous player."
The confident Wilson can be as brash as Ryan, but he is putting aside the on-field trash-talking, at least for now.
"I think I fit in well,"
he said. "I'm getting a feel for what they like and just getting a feel for everything here. You expect the worst and you just kind of roll with it. ... I'm just trying to seize the opportunity and be the best I can be."
With San Diego import Antonio Cromartie penciled in to be the starting corner opposite superstar Revis, Wilson's main role will be to cover slot receivers when opponents use extra wideouts. That will be new for him, as he was a starting cornerback for Boise and played on the outside.
"It's a lot harder,"
he said of that role. "You do a lot more. It'll definitely be a challenge, but I'll try my best."
Other than that, the feeling is familiar.
"Football is football and it's something I've been playing for a while,"
Wilson said. "It's not rocket science."
McKnight still ill
Running back Joe McKnight, who vomited Friday morning during his first NFL practice, almost did again Saturday morning. He came out of the morning practice for a few minutes because of what he called a stomach virus, and he was doubled over again in obvious discomfort.
"It's not a conditioning situation, but I wasn't in the best shape,"
McKnight admitted after the afternoon practice. "I'm not in good shape right now. I mean, I'm in OK shape, but I'm not in the best. I could be better."
The fourth-round pick from Southern California said he wants to stay around the Jets' training facility after minicamp ends to get in better shape.
"I don't think we need to overreact with this,"
Ryan said. "He still does some great things out there."
Ryan said he talked with wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who told him he turned off his iPod while on a Pittsburgh-bound flight Thursday night, but fell asleep and didn't take out his ear buds, which apparently caused confusion with the flight attendant. Holmes' version corroborates a statement released by the Allegheny County Police.
Ryan said Sanchez's rehab from knee surgery is going well.
