The Jacksonville Jaguars signed 2014 first-round draft pick Blake Bortles to a contract, the club announced this morning. Bortles was the third overall pick in the draft and is the seventh of the club’s nine draft picks to sign a contract.
Bortles was the third quarterback the Jaguars have drafted in the first round, and the sixth overall and highest drafted in franchise history. The former Central Florida quarterback was the highest drafted player in school history.
“We are excited to get Blake under contract as we finish up minicamp,” Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell said. “Blake has progressed really well this offseason and has brought a great attitude to work each day. He is highly competitive and very passionate about football. He knows where he needs to get better and is willing to do the work. He’s a down to earth guy, a blue collar guy and he just wants to be the best he can be.”
“It’s nice to get the contract done as we head into the final part of minicamp and prepare for training camp,” Bortles said. “I can’t thank Shad Khan, David Caldwell and Gus Bradley enough for the opportunity they have presented me. My focus is solely on getting better each and every day and learning from Jedd (Fisch), Frank (Scelfo), Chad (Henne) and the other quarterbacks. It’s a great learning environment to get better and improve as a player.”
Bortles played in 37 games with 30 starts at UCF before declaring for the NFL Draft following his junior season. He compiled a 22-5 record as a starter, throwing for 7,598 yards with 56 touchdowns on 585 of 891 passing and became only the second player in school history to produce multiple 3,000-yard passing seasons. He added 15 rushing touchdowns and 561 yards on 195 rushes.
The Oviedo, Florida native led the Knights to a 12-1 record in 2013 and a Fiesta Bowl win. He threw for 3,581 yards with 25 touchdowns and only nine interceptions en route to being named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He finished with five 300-yard passing games and collected 3,583 yards of total offense, the seventh-most in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
