Jaxson De Ville
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew showed some fearlessness with his play as a rookie, the kind of confidence football people describe by saying “the game’s not too big for him.”
Being in the back seat of an F-16 is a different game, but the pilot who took him up with the Air Force Thunderbirds last month said he was impressed with how Minshew handled himself.
Via Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union, Minshew was invited to fly with the Thunderbirds in Las Vegas last month, and after going through the training, impressed his pilot with his poise.
“We were pretty excited that Gardner took us up on our offer,” Air Force Lt. Col Kevin DiFalco said. “He did fantastic, he did really well. You could tell he was very motivated. Most of our maneuvers require high G-force pulls, and he did a great job. I was very impressed.
“On a 1-10 scale, I’ll give him a 10 overall. He was loving all the maneuvers. Some people get a little bit nervous, but he was not nervous at all.”
DiFalco said some of the celebrity ride-alongs aren’t prepared for some of the more extreme moves, but Minshew was willing to push it.
“Sometimes, people may not enjoy rolling maneuvers or high G maneuvers, so everything we do with these media flights is really for them,” DiFalco said. “It’s to showcase what we do in the F-16s. If they’re uncomfortable, we would opt not to perform a certain maneuver.
“Gardner was excited. He just wanted more and more of every single maneuver.”
Whether his Maverick attitude will allow him to beat the more clinical Nick Foles for the Jaguars’ starting job next season remains to be seen.