With first-round pick C.J. Mosley excelling in practice and his first preseason game, the performance of second-round defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan has been overshadowed.
Jernigan was impossible to miss on the practice field Wednesday, however.
The Florida State product continues to show off explosion and a swim move that's hard to stop.
During 11-on-11 drills, Head Coach John Harbaugh went out of his way to tell Jernigan he made a smart play. On the very next play, Jernigan sniffed out a play-action fake and would have blown up quarterback Tyrod Taylor for a sack had contact been allowed.
Later during running drills, Jernigan tossed undrafted rookie tackle Parker Graham to the ground. Then he burst past rookie guard John Urschel for what would have been a tackle for loss.
"Quick, explosive, everything we saw on film, good draft pick. I really like him," Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees said.
"Very active. I talked to the San Francisco coaches and they commented on a couple of our guys, young guys, and he was one of them. It's always good when you get somebody on the opposing team tell you they think a guy's a pretty good player."
Jernigan missed a few days of practice after dealing with back spasms, but picked up right where he left off before the injury. He didn't record any stats in the first preseason game against San Francisco, but may get more chances in Dallas on Saturday.
"I feel like I'm very disruptive," Jernigan said. "But the biggest thing is to continue to be disruptive throughout the scheme, not just making up something. Just make sure you're able to do it in the scheme and not put the entire defense in a bad position."
Here are some other notes from practice:
- Wide receiver Kamar Aiken has made a good case to make the team, but undrafted rookie wide receiver Jeremy Butler continues to make plays too. Butler made a falling catch on the sideline, then another tough catch in traffic later in practice.
- Rookie seventh-round pick Michael Campanaro caught several passes in 11-on-11 drills, and continues to work well underneath.
- Veteran inside linebacker Daryl Smith was moving around well Wednesday. Smith dealt with a groin injury that kept him sidelined for the beginning of training camp, but he came outside to pop wide receiver Mike Willie on one play, then would have had a big hit on Ray Rice when filling a running hole.
- Backup center Gino Gradkowski put undrafted rookie nose tackle Derrick Hopkins on his back on one play. Gradkowski is backing up Jeremy Zuttah, but showed he provides solid depth.
- Veteran cornerback Dominique Franks deflected a Tyrod Taylor pass that was picked off by safety Jeromy Miles. Franks yelled out to Miles, "You owe me one [number] 36!"
- Quarterback Joe Flacco was wearing a black jersey instead of his usual red practice jersey. Could that have rubbed off from 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who also wore black while in town?
- After three days of no fights with the 49ers, a skirmish broke out in the first Ravens-only practice. Among those involved were center Reggie Stephens and defensive tackle Jamie Meder, and it was broken up quickly.
- Cornerback Jimmy Smith was buttering up a referee on the sideline. After a bunch of defenders were getting on the ref for not calling a false start, Smith took to the ref's defense, yelling out to him, "You're doing a great job! You call it like you see it!" The ref called back that he appreciated the support.
