JuJu brings the juice in first practice with the Patriots

Every time there was a roar during the early portion of the Patriots’ first training camp practice on Wednesday morning, all you had to do was look at the wide receiver group.

Whether it was a great catch by URI’s Ed Lee, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton and DeVante Parker dancing or newcomer JuJu Smith-Schuster jumping up and down, interacting with fans, JuJu’s energy was infectious for everyone around him. From the time he ran out to a nice ovation, to the first rep of receiver drills where he made a grab then leapt twice, waving his arm and pounding his chest as fans stood and got riled up with him, you knew where he was at all times.

It was a welcome sight, given that no one saw him during minicamp and the only time the media spoke to him, he acknowledge he had made flash cards to help learn the offense. It was nice to see him healthy and extremely engaged on Day 1, even if he’s not 100% yet.

Both Parker and Mac Jones spoke about JuJu’s enthusiasm and what he’s brought to the room already.

“He’s brought a vet experience,” said Parker. “Teaching the young guys what they need to know, along with us helping them as well. He’s a great player too.”

“JuJu loves football and you can see the juice that he brings,” added Mac. “He’s definitely really embraced everything; he’s working really hard, always doing the right thing, so we just got to be consistent. I know that he can bring that veteran leadership; that’s one of the guys I’m talking about when I say, “played a lot of snaps in the NFL.” So, just to hear his experience, whether it’s with other quarterbacks, coordinators or against other defenses, it’s really cool just because I like to pick people’s brains as well. So, I’m really happy to have him and the guys that we have in that room.”