The Jets picked up three players off waivers on Sunday — defensive tackle Marcus Dixon, wide receiver Patrick Turner and offensive tackle Patrick Brown. They come from different backgrounds but Monday they had one thing in common — they all enjoyed their first day as Jets.
"I'm very excited," Dixon said. "It's a great organization here. I watched a little bit of 'Hard Knocks.' I like how the guys carry themselves around here. They have fun around here and they love one another. They play for each other. They have a great players' coach, too, in Coach Ryan. I'm very excited to be here and I'm going to go out here and try to learn and contribute as fast as I can."
Dixon knows all about Hard Knocks, since he had been with Dallas since his rookie season of 2008, the same year the HBO/NFL Films show featured the Cowboys. The Hampton University product believes his relentless motor and good speed will be an asset to the line rotation. After receiving phonecalls Sunday night from the Jets, Dixon and his two other new teammates were all working off of about three hours of sleep.
"Today was a little bit of a whirlwind with a lot of things going on," Brown said, "but definitely a lot of fun now. Everything went pretty well. I'm happy to be here. I think it's a great opportunity, Coach [Bill] Callahan is a legend, he has a great name, he's done a lot of great things in his career. Today was my first day and already he's taught me a lot of great things."
Brown played at Central Florida and has spent time in the NFL with Carolina, New England and Minnesota. A former All-Conference USA second-team selection, Brown was brought in to join one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Turner played at Southern Cal alongside current Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and running back Joe McKnight. Hoping to rekindle some magic from their days as Trojans, Turner has looked to Sanchez already for help learning the offense.
"It's a good offense to be a part of and I'm excited about it," he said. "It was good to get that call, and then it being the Jets, I was excited to come out here and compete. It's always good to have guys you know to help you get acclimated to a new situation and help make you that much more comfortable."
The third-round pick in the Dolphins' 2009 draft amassed 1,752 yards and 17 touchdowns on 138 receptions at USC, including 49 receptions for 741 yards and 10 touchdowns during his and Sanchez's last season in '08. The 6'5", 220-pound Turner is a large target but is also experienced on special teams. He'll have to make himself valuable to teams coordinator Mike Westhoff while he continues to learn offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's system — which he said is similar to the one he played in with the Trojans.
Although they only arrived in New Jersey on Sunday night, all three are refreshed with another chance to make their marks with an ascendant NFL team.
"It feels great," Brown said. "I know this is a great program and a lot of good things are going on for them right now."
