Rookie Diaries: Jaycee Horn ready to be back on the grind

[Sir Purr]

"I knew right away," Horn said. "As soon as I was done with college, I just noticed that I had a lot of time on my hands after I worked out with nothing to do.


"So I was ready to be back on a team, and being surrounded by players, meeting with coaches, learning ball; so I'm happy now to be in that position."


Horn spent a lot of time watching film, trying to pick up tips on technique as much as he could. Otherwise, he did what a lot of 21-year-olds do.


"Played video games," he said. "I don't go out much, so I was bored for the most part."


Of course when he was playing "Madden," he played with the Panthers (especially after they took him with the eighth overall pick in the draft). But he has no expectation of what his player rating would be on the game.


"I know it's going to be low, so I'm ready to get on the field and hopefully play good enough to improve it," he said with a laugh.


Rookie minicamp gave him a chance to put that work into play against actual players instead of virtual ones, as he was back to practice reps against his old friend Shi Smith, Terrace Marshall Jr., and others.


"It gives them the same thing it gives me — just healthy competition," Horn said. "They're great receivers; I feel like I'm a pretty good DB, so we're all just working trying to get the best out of each other."


And thankfully for Horn, he has things to keep him busy now.