ALLENTOWN – DeVonta Smith spent the Eagles’ voluntary OTA period working out in the omnipresent heat and humidity in Florida.
“It's been hot man, down in Florida it's hot as hell,” he said at his 5th annual celebrity all-star game at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday.
Smith attended the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp that was only a one-day session on June 10. Which rookie stood out to him during that 90-minute or so practice?
He had 10 drafted players to choose from this past spring’s draft class and another handful of undrafted free agent rookies. He chose Drew Mukuba, his team’s second-round pick.
“The guy from Texas? The safety?” he said.
One of the reporters in attendance for his pregame press conference asked if he meant Mukuba.
“I couldn’t say his name, but yeah,” he said.
Smith will get the pronunciation eventually. The Eagles are counting on Mukuba, who may even be the starting safety with Reed Blankenship when the season kicks off on Sept. 4 against the Dallas Cowboys.
As a receiver, Smith will see plenty of Mukuba once training camp opens on July 22. He didn’t go against him at the minicamp, but that didn’t influence his pick of which rookie stood out most to him, so far.
“Just seeing hm out there, seeing the way he moves around, things like that, the way he goes about his business,” said Smith about what he liked.
Mukuba wasn’t in Allentown for the game. The only rookie to attend was first-rounder Jihaad Campbell. The linebacker/edge rusher is still rehabbing from shoulder surgery in March, so he didn’t participate, but was there simply to support his teammates.
"Came here to show my support for Smitty's contribution to the whole community,” said Campbell. “It's definitely lit out there. Looked like a baseball game.”
Indeed, it was a standing-room-only crowd at the home of the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
