--Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Ernest Wilford pleaded no contest to a charge of resisting arrest, according to the Florida Times Union. It stems from a January incident in which the 32-year-old allegedly touched two women at a Jacksonville Beach bar in an "inappropriate" manner.

--Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew still supports David Garrard as the team's quarterback despite the selection of Blaine Gabbert in the first round of the draft.

Jones-Drew told Sirius NFL Radio, "David's our guy and he's always going to be our guy. I mean, since I've been there that's all I know and that's who I played with from the beginning. When I was a backup and he was the backup we played together, we have a bond. So I know David will fight through it. It's going to be tough at first. It's always tough when they draft at your position but David's a strong guy, strong minded. He'll be able to go out there, fight through it and we'll win games."

Jones-Drew also said Garrard shouldn't be criticized for problems with his supporting cast.

"A quarterback is only as good as the players around him," he said. "So when everyone says David's struggling that's like slapping me in the face because, I mean, Peyton Manning can throw the ball anywhere he wants to on the field but if that receiver's not catching the ball, is Peyton Manning really Peyton Manning?

"So I think with our situation we had a lot of young receivers, we had a bunch of injuries, and I mean it's hard not to say - I don't want to make excuses - but when you put the ball somewhere and the guy's not there because your No. 1 guy (Mike) Sims-Walker is hurt, or Marcedes (Lewis) is banged up, or I'm banged up, or the offensive line is a little banged up, a lot of those things go into play. And if you noticed towards the end of the year we had a lot of starters who were hurt. And so our timing was off a little bit."

--Gabbert, selected 10th overall by the team this year, acknowledged he was able to receive a playbook from the team after being drafted.

Said Gabbert, "It's great to have it, and I've already gotten into it a lot."

--Linebacker Kirk Morrison hopes he's back with the team this season. Morrison was traded to the Jaguars buy the Raiders on the day of the 2010 draft, and he admitted there was an adjustment period.

"I wouldn't call it a down year, but it's definitely an adjustment period for me," he said. "Philosophy changed, the aggressiveness changed, a lot of things changed. I was playing in the same system for five years. This year in Jacksonville was tough for me.

"You come from Oakland, play a man scheme and never play cover-2 at all. And you get to Jacksonville and there's a lot of multiple coverages, never man. You kind of revert back to what you did. Reaction time is not where you want it to be."

Jaguars linebackers coach Mark Duffner said, "He got better as the year went on. I think he had a very typical orientation. ... He's a great pro. He's got desire, work ethic, attitude, competitiveness. All the traits that you want in a player. He has to get better. That's his goal."

Morrison will be a free agent when the lockout ends, but he is hopeful of being re-signed.

"I definitely want to come back and be a part of this team, and there's a lot more football left in me," he said.

--The Jaguars didn't fill their holes on defense as they were only able to find two defensive players in the draft because general manager Gene Smith follows the best available athlete strategy and wouldn't reach for a defensive player to fill a need.

But Smith said that when the lockout ends, the Jaguars will be players in free agency and hope to find two to four defensive players.

"We will be a better team than last year on defense," he said.

--For a coach on a hot seat like Jack Del Rio, this draft didn't give him a lot of immediate help. But he said he has no problem with the team looking for long-term help rather than make short-term decisions.

"I think Mr. Weaver (Owner Wayne We aver) pays me to make decisions that are in the best interests of this football team and not always best for me as a person and individually as a coach. In the end the things that we're doing right now are very sound and they're the right things to do. I support it 100 per cent," he said.

He added, "I ask our players all the time to be unselfish and to do what's best for the team. That's what I'm doing myself. I'm not going to ask them to do something I wouldn't do myself. We're going to sacrifice where we need to."

He added, "This is the right thing to do. I'm not looking for the easiest way or the safest way. I'm looking to help this football team contend for world championships. That's what I am about. That's what motivates me. I'm not motivated by the fear of hanging on to this job."

--One of the perks of playing college football is a free education.

But that wasn't a perk for Cecil Shorts III, a wide receiver who played at Mount Union, a Division III school that doesn't give out scholarships.

He said the tuition was $27,000 when he started and $32,000 when he finished so he has a lot of student loans to pay off although he got some help from his parents.

--The Jaguars drafted only five players but general manager Gene Smith said it was a draft of quality over quantity.

"We felt like all of these players would come in and certainly upgrade our roster. They all have a future here. Again, we're just happy to have five players wearing the Jaguars' helmet that we feel have the profile that we want. I do believe it is talent, character and competitiveness," he said.

--The Jaguars drafted players from Lehigh, Mount Union and Middle Tennessee and that's a pattern for Smith. Only six of his first 20 draft picks his first three years have come from BCS schools.

"We scout the player, not the school," he said.

Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.