FOXBOROUGH – Patriot fans got their first look at JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was an active participant on Day 1 of training camp after missing all of the early camps.
Smith-Schuster did his best to win over the fans in his debut, hyping up the crowd several times, sprinting alongside the bleachers at one point, jumping up and down and waving his arms to get everyone into the spirit of opening day. He also did a version of the Griddy at one point.
On the field, he caught one pass from Mac Jones during team drills but was an active cheerleader throughout.
Following the workout Wednesday, Patriots personnel head Matt Groh told reporters why it was so important to land Smith-Schuster in free agency.
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“We’re really excited to have JuJu. It’s good to see him out here today. He’s been working,” said Groh. “The guy loves ball. The guy wants to compete, and the guy is tough. So I know we’re used to seeing those type of players at his position around here . . . I don’t think it’ll be a big deviation from what people around here are accustomed to seeing.”
While the reference was to players like Julian Edelman, Troy Brown, Wes Welker, etc., Groh made sure to note he wasn’t necessarily comparing Smith-Schuster to those former Patriot greats.
“He’s JuJu,” said Groh. “He’s not Julian, he’s not any of these other guys. He’s got the production and the career to stand amongst himself.”
Jones also spoke highly of Smith-Schuster, and how he’s made a great first impression with him and the rest of the team.
“JuJu loves football and you can see the juice that he brings. He’s definitely really embraced everything; he’s working really hard, always doing the right thing, so we just got to be consistent,” said Jones, who also addressed the media on Wednesday. “I know that he can bring that veteran leadership; that’s one of the guys I’m talking about when I say, ‘played a lot of snaps in the NFL.’
“So, just to hear his experience, whether it’s with other quarterbacks, coordinators or against other defenses, it’s really cool just because I like to pick people’s brains as well. So, I’m really happy to have him and the guys that we have in that room.”
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