Ifeanyi Momah stands out among Eagles rookie receivers
When the final horn signaled the end of the Eagles' first practice at training camp on Tuesday, rookies and selected veterans participating in drills broke from one last huddle and jogged into the NovaCare Complex to take refuge from the midafternoon sun.
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When the final horn signaled the end of the Eagles' first practice at training camp on Tuesday, rookies and selected veterans participating in drills broke from one last huddle and jogged into the NovaCare Complex to take refuge from the midafternoon sun.
Receiver Ifeanyi Momah, however, stayed behind to put in some extra work with Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. Momah said Fipp had noticed some missteps in Momah's footwork and addressed them right away.
"I kind of caught myself taking too many steps underneath myself, and I just wanted to fix that," said Momah, who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Boston College.
It was difficult to get a gauge of the rookies' true potential on Tuesday, as players mostly did individual drills within their position groups. But Momah and his 6-foot-7 frame certainly stood out among fellow first-year receivers B.J. Cunningham, Will Murphy, and Russell Shepard.
Receivers did various catching drills, hauling in passes from close range out of a JUGS passing machine and reaching around white PVC posts to catch lasers delivered by coaches.
Momah last played a game on Sept. 3, 2011, missing the remainder of that season with a knee injury. He did not play last year after being denied a sixth year of college eligibility. The 23-year-old finished his career at Boston College with just 39 catches.
"You've got to start somewhere," Momah said. "I think we all kind of made some mistakes for the first day. But tomorrow should be better. We'll take it a day at a time."
Workouts concluded with a skeleton drill lasting no more than 10 minutes. All five quarterbacks threw live passes to receivers and tight ends with members of the secondary playing tight man-to-man coverage.
When asked if he noticed any difference in passes thrown by NFL caliber quarterbacks, Momah jokingly mentioned the absence of two white stripes printed on balls used in collegiate games.
"A football's a football, man," he said. "You can see the ball coming at you. It's just about really focusing on concentrating."