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29	August 2018

ansferred to Nebraska after three years at Tulane. Jaguars offensive

The Minnesota Twins signed first-round draft pick Trevor Larnach just one day before Major League Baseball�s deadline.

For both sides Kolton Miller Youth Jersey , the delay was well worth the wait. There were no contentious contract negotiations in the way, only a College World Series championship for Larnach with Oregon State.

�We figured it would go to the end, because I thought Oregon State was the best team I saw all spring,� Twins scouting director Sean Johnson said. �They were really built to win that series, so we knew it would take a while.�

Larnach�s standard minor league deal, signed on Thursday afternoon, came with a $2.55 million signing bonus. The slot value set by MLB for the 20th overall selection was $3.12 million, so the Twins put some of that savings toward signing other players in their draft class.

Larnach, a corner outfielder who hit .327 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs this season for the Beavers, batted .417 with five doubles, nine RBIs and 10 runs scored in eight games at the College World Series. His two-run homer in the ninth inning against Arkansas helped Oregon State stave off elimination in the second game of the finals , and the Beavers went on to win the decisive third game the following night.

�I would say it�s probably the closest thing you are going to get to playing here in the big leagues,� Larnach said as he toured Target Field for the first time before the Twins played Baltimore on Thursday night. �There are a lot of people at every game. You start playing some SEC teams Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , and you start hearing them pretty well. It�s all part of it. It�s a wonderful experience, and I wish I could re-live some of it, but you know there are better times ahead.�

The Twins said the 21-year-old Larnach will report to rookie-level Elizabethton of the Appalachian League.

�It�s good to have him in the fold,� Twins manager Paul Molitor said. �I told him to enjoy the experience. I couldn�t really relate to him what it was like to sign at this particular point in my life because it was 40-some years ago, but it was nice for him and his parents to come in and have a chance to talk with them.�

Johnson was on a scouting trip in North Carolina, dining at The Cheesecake Factory restaurant with Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff, when they saw Larnach�s dramatic home run. They weren�t exactly sweating the timing of the signing.

�Twenty seconds before he hit the home run, I�m like, `If he hits a home run here to give them the lead, we can wait another day,�� Johnson recalled. �Right on cue, he hit it. That was the first time I celebrated in a Cheesecake Factory. That was pretty cool. That was a fun moment to watch.�

For Larnach, too http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-cassius-marsh-jersey , of course.

�My experience at Oregon State, man, it�s pretty unbelievable. I can�t put that into words,� he said. �I can�t thank my family at Oregon State enough for what they�ve done for me. I�m always going to come back to them and say hi and give them my love and just give back to them as much as I can, because they�ve developed me not only as ballplayer but as a person, and that�s what they promised when I got there.�

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The Jacksonville Jaguars used the NFL draft to build for the future, not necessarily this fall.

They used every pick on down-the-road starters instead of filling pressing needs.

It's a luxury rarely seen in Jacksonville, which made the AFC championship game in January after a decade of failure and futility. The Jags return 18 of 22 starters from a team that led the NFL in rushing and ranked second in total defense.

Top executive Tom Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell liked the team's makeup enough that they actually made a best-player-available pick in the first round when they added Florida's Taven Bryan to a defensive line that includes Pro Bowlers Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson and Yannick Ngakoue.

"We want the competition. We want it as much as we can get it," Coughlin said following the three-day draft Saturday. "That's the one thing in our game that makes everybody better. These people were drafted to be football players, whether it's a starter or whatever. It takes everybody."

Bryan was the first of several Jacksonville draft picks expected to be backups as rookies.

The Jaguars envision LSU receiver DJ Chark (second round), Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison (third) and North Carolina State right tackle Will Richardson (fourth) as eventual starters, but neither of them is considered a plug-and-play guy.

"If they come in and play that is a bonus Tremaine Youth Edmunds Youth Jersey , too," Caldwell said. "We are not just going to say, 'Hey, take it easy for the next two years.' Those guys have to come in and compete. ... Competition is great. The more depth you can have and be prepared for any situation then the better off you will be."

Here are some other things to know about Jacksonville's draft, which included Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee (sixth round), Wisconsin linebacker Leon Jacobs (seventh) and Mississippi State punter Logan Cooke (seventh).

TAKING A CHANCE: The Jaguars took a chance with the 129th pick on Richardson, who was suspended twice in three years at North Carolina State.

The 6-foot-6, 306-pound Richardson started 30 games at right tackle for the Wolfpack. He was suspended for the first two games last season for what he said was a marijuana-related violation. As a redshirt freshman in November 2015, he was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated. He was suspended one game for that and served a university-imposed suspension for the 2016 spring semester.

"Ideally, we don't like any baggage," Caldwell said. "We don't like to have to answer these questions on a day like today, but we also understand some of these players have a past and hopefully they grow from their past and become fine, upstanding citizens. The time that his discipline ended to this point and time in the draft and all the research and background checks and everything we've done on him has led us to believe that hopefully that's behind him now. Time will tell Adidas Anze Kopitar Jersey , and it's up to him to make sure that he holds his end of the bargain up."

Richardson will compete at right tackle with 31-year-old Jermey Parnell, and if he doesn't win the job, would be the team's swing tackle in 2018.

DEVELOPMENTAL QB: Jacksonville added a third quarterback when it drafted Nebraska's Tanner Lee in the sixth round. Lee will compete with Cody Kessler for the backup spot behind Blake Bortles. Coach Doug Marrone said the team would be open to keeping three QBs on the roster.

The 6-foot-4 Lee has a big arm, but he completed just 57.5 percent of his passes in 2017, with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He transferred to Nebraska after three years at Tulane. Jaguars offensive assistant Eric Price served as Tulane's offensive coordinator during Lee's time on campus.

"We know the kid very well, his makeup, his intelligence, his drive, his attitude," Caldwell said. "He's going to fit in well with Blake and Cody and that quarterback room. He's an accurate passer when he has time like most of them. He was under a lot of duress this year at Nebraska. We feel like he can come in and he's got a high ceiling because of the arm strength at the accuracy and the quick release."

STILL NEEDED: The one position the Jaguars failed to address in the draft was tight end. They parted ways with veteran Marcedes Lewis in March, leaving them to rely on Austin Seferian-Jenkins in 2018.

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