Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has teed it up at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, but only within the comfort zone of a scramble format at Tim Tebow’s annual charity event.
Sometime after free agency and the NFL draft, and before training camp, he plans to rectify that.
“I love this course and Tim’s event is coming up in a few weeks, so we’ll be out there,” he said on Friday during a visit to The Players Championship. “I don’t think I’ve ever played it, just played it [on his own ball]. That’s going to change now that I’m here.”
But Meyer is well aware of the challenges and noted that a PGA Tour player he counts as a friend, Kevin Na, had some difficulties during the first round on Thursday at the 17th hole’s Island Green.
“I was working out yesterday and I watched my friend Kevin Na throw a few in the water,” Meyer said. “So it’s a really hard course.”
Meyer came to know a number of Tour players from the close relationship he developed with Jack Nicklaus when Meyer coached Ohio State from 2012-18. Meyer lived off the seventh hole of the Murifield Village Golf Club outside of Columbus, Ohio, and was a frequent guest at The Memorial hosted by Nicklaus, an Ohio State graduate.
Fun chat with @CoachUrbanMeyer today @THEPLAYERSChamp talking football, draft picks, and golf lessons from Jack Nicklaus. pic.twitter.com/5H8ID1z5So
— Steve Burkowski (@SBurkowskiGC) March 12, 2021
“When I first got hired at Ohio State, within a day I got a phone call and he asked me to be part of Muirfield,” Meyer said. “We played golf every year for like seven, eight years, and then he’s just awesome. Him and [Nicklaus’ wife] Barbara are incredible.”
Meyer said that after leaving Ohio State and joining Fox Sports, he played much more golf and has gotten his handicap hovering around single digits.
“I played 75-to-80 rounds last year,” he said. “In the previous 30 years I don’t think I’ve played 75, 80 rounds. I love golf.”
Meyer said The Players Championship and the PGA Tour are a big pieces of the First Coast package that he loves — and thinks should be a strong selling point to free agents and the overall success of the Jaguars.
“I thought it was really important to come out here because this is one of the first times I get to show support for [The Players],” he said. “I love this community. I know this community very well. Obviously, I was in Gainesville for seven or eight years, our kids were constantly at baseball tournaments. I recruited — there’s great high school football in this area. We do the Tim Tebow event. That was a big part of why I took the job. There would be nothing greater to see the 904 and Duval County and Jacksonville just explode behind this team. We have, not a good owner, we have a great owner. That’s why we’re all working so hard, to get him some success in the NFL.”
Meyer fielded some football questions and while he didn’t offer any more specifics about free agents — such as two players he coached in college, quarterback Alex Smith (Utah) and cornerback Janaoris Jenkins (Florida).
Former Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer watches his team warmup before the start of practice on August 6, 2012. (Kyle Robertson)
“I’m waking up in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling trying to put this … all of us are trying to put this thing together,” he said. “You just look at the history, which I have, just looking through the history of the NFL, how many chances do you get to build a roster like we are? You have cap space, 11 draft picks. You can’t screw it up, man.”
Meyer said he had a chance to speak with offensive tackle Cam Robinson since the team put the franchise tag on him, and Meyer said Robinson’s reaction was “real positive.”‘
But Meyer did say he wanted to see improvement along the entire offensive line.
“I like our line. Can we play better? You’re darned right, we are going to play better,” he said. “But starting with [Brandon] Linder, our center, [guard Andrew] Norwell, [guard] A.J. [Cann], Jawaan [Taylor] at the right tackle and Cam, we’ve just got to get better. Every one of them can play better, and I like all five guys, and I think Cam has got a really good future.”
Meyer said he’s been told the Jaguars may return to London for one game next season but nothing is concrete.
“That’s what I’ve kind of been told,” he said. “I’ve not done a lot of research on it. I was part of a game, when I was at Notre Dame, we played in Ireland. And the trip there is not bad, the trip home was tough.”