JACKSONVILLE Kyler Murray Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Leonard Fournette slipped off his sweaty cleats, signed each one and then handed them to a young fan after practice.The youngster carefully walked away with Fournette’s gold-colored shoes, making sure not to touch the drying ink. After all, the memorabilia could appreciate in value if the Jacksonville Jaguars running back gets his NFL career turned around.Fournette spoke publicly for the first time in nearly six months Friday, finally addressing the worst season in his 24 years and everything that’s happened since. He was injured, suspended and on the bench in crunch time. He was fined, criticized and admittedly not in ideal shape late in the year.The Jaguars voided the remaining guarantees in his rookie contract following his one-game suspension for fighting, and personnel chief Tom Coughlin ripped him for being “disrespectful” and “selfish” during the season finale. Adding to the chaos, Fournette was arrested last month for driving with a suspended license.“It’s a new year,” Fournette said following practice. “We have a new team. We’re focused and we have new players. It’s a new year for us, so it’s a new everything. It’s a clean start for a lot of us guys. We’re not focused on the past. The past’s the past.“Some things I did, whether it was offseason and I admitted to, yeah I was wrong. We moved on. We’re in a good place right now.”The Jaguars were in a tough spot without Fournette last season, unable to run the ball with any consistency after building the offense around the former LSU star and fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.He finished with 439 yards rushing and five touchdowns in eight games after running for 1,040 yards and nine scores as a rookie. He’s missed 11 games in two seasons, including two because of suspensions.“Everybody has a bad year, so I don’t feel like I’ve got to prove myself to no one,” Fournette said.The team probably feels otherwise.Jacksonville completely revamped its running backs room around Fournette, firing position coach Tyrone Wheatley and parting ways with backups T.J. Yeldon http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/byron-murphy-jersey , Carlos Hyde and Corey Grant.Coach Doug Marrone hired 64-year-old Terry Robiskie, who, like Fournette, was born and raised in New Orleans and attended LSU, as running backs coach. They also added veteran Alfred Blue (another LSU alum) to be Fournette’s backup.And even though they signed quarterback and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles to upgrade one of the NFL’s most anemic offenses, Fournette is still expected to be the centerpiece under new coordinator John DeFilippo.“He’s going to be a major reason for where our offense goes,” DeFilippo said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that. Leonard Fournette needs to be a big part of this offense. The harder he works, which he is right now, I think that’s not only going to be good for our offense, but good for our team.”Fournette said he weighs 226 pounds, down 14 pounds from the end of last season.He spent part of this offseason training in Dallas and then went to Wyoming to work with his college strength and conditioning coach in hopes of getting back to his “foundation.”“I kind of put a lot on myself this offseason, like getting my body right,” Fournette said. “Just mentally coming back ready to play football. No distractions. Leaving the outside stuff where it’s at. I think that’s one of the biggest things that us players. … We face a lot of problems, you know what I mean?“We have a lot of issues, and if we’re not right with ourselves and then we come out on this field, we’re not going to be right in the game.”Getting Fournette back on track is one of Jacksonville’s top priorities. Coaches believe he’s got the talent to be one of the best backs in the league — a guy whose worn cleats would be a collector’s item — but they have to keep him healthy, in shape, motivated and focused.“Those young guys at that age, I always think they need a little more push Andy Isabella Jersey , a little bit more guidance, a little bit more leadership,” Robiskie said. “Leonard is one of those guys.He’s got the ambition. He’s got the heart.“I think he wants to win. I don’t think he wants to win a game. I think he wants to be a part of something special. I think he wants to win a Super Bowl, and I think the year before last, that little taste that he had, I think that kind of helped push it a little bit more.” CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers coach Ron Rivera learned a valuable lesson when he took over defensive play-calling duties midway through last season: You can’t afford to be predictable in today’s NFL.That’s why Rivera is mixing in a three-man defensive front — along with a few other surprises — to go along with the base 4-3 defensive scheme the Panthers have used the last eight seasons.“The biggest thing is that we are playing so many multiple style offenses that you just can’t line up and let them attack you,” said Rivera, who previously spent six seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.That’s one reason Carolina drafted Brian Burns in the first round and Christian Miller in the fourth and signed free agent Bruce Irvin, speed edge rushers who have the flexibility to drop into coverage.The Panthers have regularly been a top 10 defense, which led to them losing defensive coordinators Sean McDermott and Steve Wilks to head coaching jobs elsewhere. Last year Carolina promoted Eric Washington as its third defensive coordinator in three seasons, but when things began to fall apart on that side of the ball Rivera stepped in to assume play-calling duties.“In the middle of the year I started doing some different things, and I saw that every time we did some of those things positive things happened,” Rivera said.That included disguising blitzes, dropping defensive linemen into coverage and mixing up defensive fronts, among other tweaks.The problem was the Panthers didn’t have the personnel to do all of the things Rivera wanted to do, which is why general manager Marty Hurney sought out adding versatile edge rushers.Burns, in particular, is viewed as an integral part of the team’s future in this new more diverse defensive scheme.“It makes the defense more versatile and I come from a school that did it all of the time Clelin Ferrell Jersey ,” said Burns, who played at Florida State. “We played a 4-3, a 3-4 and a whole bunch of other packages, so I’m used to rushing the passer and dropping” into coverage.He’s also familiar with the lingo involved, which should allow him to play more freely and without overthinking things.“Just being able to do both, no offense can really scheme me or know when I am coming at any particularly play,” Burns said. “I can disguise as if I’m dropping and really come off the edge and that can free up me or other people.”When the Panthers go to a 3-4 front look for two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short to slide out to defensive end.The Panthers are hoping to land free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to play inside alongside Short in their base four-man front. McCoy was cut by Tampa Bay in a salary cap move last month and is deciding between Baltimore, Cleveland and Carolina.The Panthers visited with McCoy last week and Rivera said the meeting went very well. He thinks the Panthers have a “good chance” of signing him, but added that other teams probably feel the same way.“He’s a guy we would love to have here to be a part of what we’re doing,” Rivera said. “He’s going through the process so we are waiting to see what the outcome is going to be.”The Panthers are still in the early stages of installing their new defensive looks, but Rivera has been pleased by the team’s retention.Now, he said, it’s a matter of time to see how much of what the team is installing can be effectively used this season.“It’s neat to see the things you are capable of doing, but we won’t know (how much) until we get into the preseason or regular season,” Rivera said.NOTES: Cam Newton did not throw a football during Monday’s practice, which was open to the media. However, Rivera said Newton did throw some last week during closed practice sessions. Those are the QB’s first throws since undergoing arthroscopic surgery in January in his right shoulder. He is expected to be ready to practice when training camp arrives.