Despite donning a red non-contact jersey throughout OTAs and minicamp, Jets S Marcus Maye was still eager to fly around with his new teammates.
"I thought it went well," Maye said of his first pro spring. "I was excited about it. Just being out there on an NFL field with a lot of the guys just makes everything surreal. Once I got used to the speed and the tempo of the game, it was all good."
Maye, a second-round pick from Florida, predominantly ran with the first-team defense alongside first-round pick S Jamal Adams.
"We work hand in hand together," Maye said. "We communicate every play on and off the field. We're with each other 24/7, so I feel like the more we're around each other, the more it's going to help on the field."
They were roommates this offseason, watching film together after practice, "talking ball" and hanging out. Head coach Todd Bowles said both Adams and Maye are interchangeable on the field and the pair did a good job in the classroom picking up the system.
Maye, who turned down a chance to leave school early, broke his left arm against South Carolina in November after starting in Florida's first nine games.
"Outstanding football player, great communicator," Bowles said after the Jets selected Maye. "He sees the ball and goes to get it. He hunts the ball down. He's a very good athlete and safety. He can play either spot and has a lot of versatility."
The 6'0", 210-pounder totaled 205 tackles, 5 INTs, 21 PDs, 6.5 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles in four seasons for the Gators. He was named All-SEC second team after both the 2015 and '16 seasons. The Florida product is a part of a DBs room with a handful of new faces as well as a new coach, Dennard Wilson.
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"He's been great," Maye said of Wilson. "High energy, every detail we have to be on point. He doesn't miss a thing on the field. Just the fact that he's pushing us, everyone is new in the room, so we're all coming together."
During his break, the Melbourne, FL native was scheduled to go home and train and relax. Maye hopes to be ready for the pads once training camp commences later this month.
"I'm trying to, but just waiting on whenever the doctors say so," Maye said. "I'm not really sure about that, but we have this offseason, so things are going to get better. Hopefully when I get back I'm not in that red jersey."
