Last Sunday was something of a transition for Ben Ijalana, who knew he would be starting on offense against the Dolphins for Ryan Clady and his ailing shoulder. But with Clady going on IR this week, it's now official.
Ijalana is the Jets' new starting left tackle. And he's well aware of how that sounds.
"In Jets lore, for the last 10½ years, there've only been three people to man that position," Ijalana told me after today's practice. "That aspect is kind of like, wow, this is something that is hard-earned and not easily passed down."
What's more, Ijalana is getting input not only from Clady, one of those two other LT starters, but also from D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who anchored the O-line for all 10 seasons from 2006 until his retirement this past offseason.
"I see D'Brickashaw about once a week. He lives in a neighboring town and he's my good friend," Ijalana said. "He told me to just play ball, which is something I've already been doing. But I hope these next few weeks I'll maybe grow closer to him in relatability. Our schedule's the who's-who of edge-rushing monsters and All-Pros and and All-World-caliber athletes.
"Maybe we'll get to a point where I look at him and he looks at me and there's just a secret understanding of the day-to-day struggle of a left tackle."
Ijalana's next battle will be Los Angeles' active, tenacious four-man front and in particular RDE Robert Quinn, the Rams' first-round pick back in 2011.
But Ben's a former second-round pick himself that same draft and he's been patiently waiting his turn to play for the Green & White. He's not happy with the injury that moved him to the first offense but he's already gotten his feet wet with a good game at Miami in which he was a big part of the Jets' 140-yard rushing offense and didn't yield a sack.
"I'm appreciative that the organization was like, 'You know, Ben, you're the guy for the job,' which is kind of an honor," he said. "Nobody ever sings praises for the backup left tackle, but when the one goes down, the two steps up, so I think it's pretty cool."
And Ijalana's plan for the Rams and beyond?
"My goal is to play well and become invisible," he said. "I don't want you to notice that there's a new tackle out there."
