As his fifth year in a Jets uniform inches closer, versatile right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is thrilled to be part of what can potentially be one of the team's best offensive lines in a long time.
"It's great, especially being here going on my fifth year now with the Jets to have a solid O-line like this," AVT said earlier in training camp. "And with the type of guys we have in this room, it's a true, great feeling, especially with the type of coach we have, and other guys as well. I think we all come in with the right mindset. You got guys like [RT Armand] Membou over there on the right side, [LT] Olu [Fashanu], two first-round tackles, and then Tip [C Joe Tippmann] in the middle, [LG] John [Simpson] on the other side. I think when you add all those guys together, you know, it could be something special."
What has also struck AVT as "something special" has been HC Aaron Glenn's return to the NFL team that drafted him (gulp!) 31 years ago.
"I can see this thing turning around for sure, especially with Glenn, the type of coach he is," AVT said. "He praises physicality, but even more, accountability. I think that's very important for a head coach to do, something I haven't seen as much in my career."
The modest sort of guy that he is, AVT, 26, glossed over the fact that he, too, was a first-round selection (No. 14 overall) of the Jets out of USC in the 2020 NFL Draft. And although he's worn the "versatile" tag during his time with the Green & White, last season he planted his flag at right guard after having bounced from right to left, guard to tackle. And perhaps it's only a coincidence that in the 2024 season, after two years dealing with injuries (limited to a combined 12 games), Vera-Tucker played a solid 15 games on the right side.
And now he's got a new running mate on the right side in Armand Membou, the man-mountain the Jets selected out of Missouri with the No. 11 overall draft pick in April. He was asked for his reaction after seeing a clip of Membou run a 4.9 40-yard dash during February's NFL Combine.
"Yeah, that's crazy, man," he said. "It's funny. I just saw a video the other day. I didn't know he ran a four-nine, so when I saw that, that was kind of wild to me. I feel like, with Membou, it's just a whole lot of raw talent, So I feel like, once he gets a lot of snaps in in his career, in this training camp, and he kind of gets in his groove during season, it's going to be like it wasn't college for him -- he's just going to be able to dominate. And then communication is always key with the whole alignment. So right now we're working on that, like every other position on this team."
He added: "We want the responsibility on our shoulders. You know what I'm saying, we want to run the ball. We want to be dominant in the trenches like any of the offensive lines. But I think when you put together a line like this, you got to take advantage of that opportunity, right? You don't see many teams invest in the O-line like we have. So when you see that, you got to take advantage of it. And as I said, you kind of want that responsibility."
