The two fans - brothers Mike and Chad Johnson - drove from Western Wisconsin, picked up Packers Davon House at the airport in Minneapolis and made the long trip back east to Green Bay, delivering the Packers cornerback safe and sound at around 3:30 on Tuesday morning.
A article from Michael Cohen. A great read on Davon House Returns Home.
GREEN BAY - When the Green Bay Packers are on the practice field, it behooves the viewer to pay attention as players work through individual drills led by assistant coaches. More specifically, it’s worth noting the order in which reps are taken.
Though it’s far from an exact science, there is an obvious tendency for players to line up in a manner that reflects the general parameters of the depth chart. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb lead the wide receivers. Clay Matthews and Nick Perry get things started for the outside linebackers. Mike Daniels takes charge of the defensive line.
Earlier this week, it was familiar face Davon House acting as frontrunner for the cornerbacks.
“Now I'm in a role where I'm going out there every time,” House said after Tuesday’s practice. “They call the ones, I'm the first one out doing the reps and the drills. I'm leading by example, I guess you could say. So my role has changed a little bit.
“People might look at me like I'm weird, but I kept all my Packers stuff after I left here. I watched every game, recorded the games. Rooted for you guys except when we played you guys in Jacksonville. But I mean I was rooting for you guys. I felt like I was still a Packer deep down inside.
“I wasn't going to go anywhere else, unless things were just ridiculously different than here. But this is where I wanted to be, this is where I needed to be, for me to show the world what I can do type (of) thing.”
A fourth-round pick by the Packers in 2011, House returned to Green Bay during free agency when he signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal after the Jaguars released him March 6. He instantly became the most experienced cornerback on the Packers’ roster with six accrued seasons — no one else has more than three — and will be asked to juggle a number of different hats in his second stint with the team: leader for a youthful group; mentor to second-round pick Kevin King; probable starter in Week 1.
It’s a role he is eager to fill.
“All I've got to do is teach what the vets taught me,” House said. “I was lucky to have Tramon (Williams), Sam Shields, Charles Woodson, me and Casey (Hayward) came around at the same time, Jarrett Bush. We're talking about leadership. If anyone is talking about being a Hall of Famer, I had Woodson. If someone was an undrafted guy, like Herb (Waters) wants to talk about starting from the bottom, I mean Williams did it. You have nickel guys, Casey was a nickel here, so if guys want to talk about that, Casey was the guy. Those are guys I can talk about, the way they did things, the way they worked as references, so it's easy.”
The Packers lacked a veteran presence for what amounted to the entirety of the 2016 season. Sam Shields, the unquestioned No. 1 corner, spent the majority of the year away from Lambeau Field after suffering a concussion in Week 1 that wound up ending his career. He recovered for several months in his native Florida as the youngsters behind him — Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter — stumbled through their second seasons in the league.
“Sam’s presence meant a lot, especially to guys that are just two-year players,” Rollins said. “But having House in the room, it brings an older element to the room, a guy who has been around here on some great teams definitely will benefit us. I feel it.”
Randall and Rollins are entering what might be defining years in their NFL careers. Though both players were hampered by groin injuries that required surgery, their on-field performances were queasy enough to force general manager Ted Thompson to use his top draft choice on a cornerback for the second time in three years. If the Packers truly believed injuries were the only issue with Randall and Rollins, it’s unlikely Thompson would have selected King with the first pick of the second round.
“You definitely got to learn from it,” Rollins said of his performance last season. “That’s with anything you do in life. But I just didn’t play to my standards, so getting back to that this year is definitely my main focus.”
Added House: “We've got a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. Hopefully with me coming back, we can get that done. I mean with all the injuries we had in the cornerback room last year, if they had me or they had Casey, or if Sam never got hurt, they're going to the Super Bowl. That's one of the reasons I feel like I'm lucky.”
The arrivals of House and King are likely to limit the playing time for Rollins and Randall in terms of perimeter snaps next season, evidenced by the alignments used during Tuesday’s organized team activity. In the nickel defense, which is the de facto base for the Packers, the most frequent combination featured House and Gunter on the perimeter with Randall playing the slot. Rollins took the majority of his reps in the slot as well.
When the Packers switched to dime, everything stayed the same and safety Morgan Burnett played as the second slot corner. Kentrell Brice slid in alongside Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at safety.
Come June, when King returns to Green Bay after final exams at Washington, the rotations are likely to shuffle again. Returners from last year have four months to prove the miscues from 2016 were flukes.
“We’re not going to talk about it,” Rollins said. “We’re just going to continue to get better week after week, day after day and just see where we end up. But we’ve definitely got some strides we can make.”
To hire or book Davon House for a player appearance, meet and greet, autograph session or motivational speaking, contact Mark@MayfieldSports.com or 262.366.8188.
Green Bay Packers Davon House Comes Home
In the NFL it is not very common to have a player start their career, leave for a few years and then return to the team that drafted them. We at Mayfield Sports Marketing, are thrilled to welcome Davon and his family back to Green Bay. A wonderful guy on and off the field. Welcome Home Buddy!
Mayfield Sports Marketing is a leading Wisconsin Sports Marketing Agency and Speaker Bureau for Wisconsin and Midwest companies booking Athlete Appearances. If you or your company is interested in Packers Davon House, please contact our Sales Team at 262.366.8188 or contact Mark@MayfieldSports.com
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers are reconnecting with an old friend.
Davon House, a fourth-round draft pick of the Packers in 2011, agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Packers, a source disclosed Tuesday. The deal will pay House around $3.5 million a year, another source said.
House, who had left the Packers to sign a four-year, $24.5 million free-agent deal in 2015, was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 4.
The Packers were one of three teams interested in House, who completed a two-day visit with the Steelers on Tuesday morning.
The addition of House, who started 14 games in three years with the Packers, gives the team the veteran cornerback it had been seeking to replace Micah Hyde. House will get to compete with 2015 draft choices Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins as well as anybody the Packers draft for a starting spot.
House started 15 of 16 games for the Jaguars in 2015, but he fell out of favor in 2016 and the Jaguars cleared $6 million in cap space when they released him.
The 6-1, 200-pound House ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds at the 2011 scouting combine and had a vertical jump of 33½ inches.
Ryan Wood contributed to this story.
Congrats to our friend and client: Davon House to join Jaguars at $6.25M per year
The Jacksonville Jaguars continue to make a big impression in free agency.
Set to sign tight end Julius Thomas, defensive lineman Jared Odrick and offensive tackle Jermey Parnell, the team is now zeroing in on former Green Bay Packers cornerback Davon House, per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.
House is set to join Jacksonville's secondary at $6.25 million per year, Rapoport was told by a source.
House was a valuable role player for the Packers, playing just 411 snaps last season but showing promise as our third-ranked free-agent cornerback behind Byron Maxwell and Chris Culliver.
House made only 14 starts over four injury-effected seasons in Green Bay, but his speed and long build -- he's 6-foot-1 -- make him a fit for Gus Bradley's scheme. House has the physical tools to hang with bigger, tougher receivers, and figures as a potential starter.
As with the untested Parnell, House represents another boom-or-bust addition for the Jaguars. The team is throwing plenty of money at role players they hope to make starters. It's a risky strategy for a team under pressure to show results in 2015.
To Book Davon House for your next event, non profit event, golf outing or autograph session, contact Mark@MayfieldSports.com 262.366.8188
