Jets' Stuckey made the most of his inactivity

124 · May 29, 2008

I've been excited about Chansi since we took him in the 7th round last season and he definitely, IMO, was a steal. Hopefully this season he stays healthy so we can all see just how dynamic he can be as our slot receiver making plays deep down the field. He's got very good speed.

Jets' Stuckey made the most of his inactivity
BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com
7:19 PM EDT, May 28, 2008

Right around the time Chansi Stuckey started being referred to as a "steal" is when his 2007 season got stolen.

The foot problems that plagued Stuckey, a seventh-round pick of the Jets in 2007, for part of his career at Clemson landed the receiver on the inactive list before the 2007 season opener against New England. He was placed on injured reserve after Week 1, effectively ending his rookie season.

"For anyone not doing something they want to do, it was tough," Stuckey said after Wednesday's OTA practice at Hofstra. "You want to get out there to show what you can do."

The 6-foot, 185-pound Stuckey did that last preseason, finishing the four-game exhibition schedule with 11 receptions, the second-highest total on the team. In the Jets' final exhibition game, a 13-11 victory at Philadelphia, Stuckey caught four passes for 47 yards. He also returned two punts for 50 yards and three kickoffs for 81 yards, including a 33-yarder.

All of that momentum came to an end with his foot injury, but Stuckey impressed his coach and teammates with how he handled the premature finish to a season that never really started.

"For a younger guy, especially a guy who knew every Sunday he wasn't playing, you'd go in there to watch film and he'd be in there watching film," quarterback Kellen Clemens said Wednesday.

Coach Eric Mangini said: "What I liked about Chansi last year is he was very involved the whole time he was not involved. He was diligent in his preparation. He was diligent in trying to stay part of what was happening with the offense. Sometimes you have a guy that goes on IR, especially a young guy, they can get lost. They start the next year and they're no better than they were when they got there."

Which Stuckey was determined not to happen to him. Being a rookie once was plenty.

"The one thing that I didn't want to let happen was to let it be a wasted year. What I tried to do was just go to meetings and learn everything, what was going on every week, see what week-to-week game-planning is like so when I had the opportunity to come back, I didn't want to be behind."

To this point, Stuckey hasn't been. With Brad Smith a limited participant in these OTAs because of an undisclosed injury, Stuckey has been the de facto No. 3 receiver behind Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. He has made the most of the chance, showing the precise route-running that made him one of the ACC's top receivers and catching everything thrown his way. And most important, to this point, Stuckey has stayed healthy. Jets players rarely discuss their injury status and Stuckey is no different. But thus far on the field, he doesn't appear limited in any way.

"Look at him out there, he's running against our ones and having success," Clemens said. "At this level you can't do that if you're hindered. He looks pretty good to me."

A good day for Clemens. Chalk up Wednesday to Clemens in the still very early battle for the quarterback position. Clemens, while not quite as sharp as he was last Thursday when the media was last allowed to watch practice, had a good day compared to Chad Pennington. Pennington short-hopped several throws to receivers on out patterns, though the veteran finished the practice strong, tossing a well-thrown, 22-yard strike into the wind to Cotchery in the end zone. Clemens didn't view Pennington's rough day as gaining an early advantage in the race for the starting job.

"Not at all," Clemens said. "We've both missed, and at the same time he threw that beautiful ball down here to Jerricho in the end zone."
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alen1 · May 29, 2008

Nice read. I really like Stuckey and hope he is an impactl for the Jets, just not against us.

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