No one’s more excited about Alshon Jeffery than Duce Staley
No one’s more excited about the Eagles’ new wide receiver than the running backs coach.
You wouldn’t believe it when March 9th began, but it happened. In a few hours, the Philadelphia Eagles changed the entire fan base’s mind state about the 2017 season. Before you could belt out a few notes of “Fly Eagles Fly”, wide receivers Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery had been added tho the roster.
It was believed that the Eagles had a chance at acquiring one or the other. Bringing both into the fold was almost like Christmas had come in the middle of March.
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Signing Smith completed a project that began a little over a year ago. Some thought a lack of cap room would kill the dreams of adding Jeffery, but the team was able to work it out. No one was more happy about adding the former South Carolina Gamecocks standout than the Eagles’ running backs coach, Duce Staley.
Before there were chants of “Duce” every time Staley touched the ball and before there was a “pickle juice game”, Staley was a standout in Columbia with the Gamecocks.
Staley continues to be a mainstay around the city and a staunch supporter of the Gamecocks program. Watching Jeffery hone his skills there made him a fan long before there were talks to make Staley a position coach or to bring Jeffery to Philadelphia.
In his most recent press conference, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman credited Staley with being part of Jeffery’s recruitment process. Now, we all hope he can help in convincing Jeffery to stay a while.
Signing the veteran wideout to a one year deal was a concern for some. It shouldn’t be. As Roseman stated, once Jeffery gets a taste of “the city of brotherly love” and sees the passion ofthe game’s greatest fans, he’ll, no doubt, want to be there for a while.