Sauce Gardner sees big change for talented Jets
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner talks to the media during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J., on Saturday. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce’’ Gardner expects to be part of positive change for the Jets.
Gardner was the first player taken by the Jets in their much-heralded draft class. Those additions plus other players added in free agency have Gardner believing this team is on the rise.
“I think this year we’re going to make a huge change,” he said after Saturday’s practice.
Gardner was the fourth overall pick in the draft. The Jets also took receiver Garrett Wilson and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson in the first round, running back Breece Hall in the second and tight end Jeremy Ruckert in the third.
They signed veteran cornerback D.J. Reed, safety Jordan Whitehead, left guard Laken Tomlinson and tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin. The overall upgrades in talent have the Jets — 4-13 last year — feeling good.
“I feel like everybody’s buying into the program,” Gardner said. “I don’t know how things were last year, but I know we got a lot of great talent from free agency to [the] draft.
“Coaches, everybody, they know. Everybody has that feeling. It’s not just me. Everybody is like, ‘We’re going to do this.’ As long as we’re on the same page with that, it should be pretty easy to make something happen.”
Gardner, who didn’t allow a touchdown in three seasons at Cincinnati, has impressed in camp as he competes with Bryce Hall for the cornerback job opposite Reed.
“That boy’s [Gardner] a dog,” Wilson said. “He’s really a dog. He’s really handsy, good with his hands, and puts himself in the right scenario a lot of the time.”
Johnson said: “He’s got juice, and he does things the right way on top of having the talent that he has. A guy as talented as Sauce and with the mindset he has and the kind of teammate he is, it’s special.”
It was Gardner’s turn to play with the starters Saturday. He told Reed that he was going to get an interception before Reed did. It turned out Reed got one. He jumped Zach Wilson’s pass intended for Elijah Moore in red-zone drills, picked it off and raced down the sideline for a touchdown.
Gardner was so excited, he was running with Reed. “He ran 100 yards, I ran 100 yards with him,” Gardner said. “I even did a back flip. I didn’t flip since I was like 12 years old. It looked kind of bad. I was just in the moment.”
Gardner knows opponents will try to throw at him more than Reed once the season starts. He’s excited for the challenge and is confident he will prove himself.
“At the end of the day, I try to make sure I take care of my mental,” Gardner said. “That’s why I’m always calm and collected. That way, no matter what the situation is, I can handle it in the best way. I’m looking forward to whatever comes. If they want to test me all day, that’ll just be better for me.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
