Rookie cornerback Tramain Jacobs back peddled and broke on an outside post route.
Looking like he was in position to make a play on the ball, Jacobs reached out for the deflection. Except this time, rookie wide receiver Jeremy Butler made a fingertip snatch.
Jacobs clapped his hands in frustration. So close.
This play is a prime example of Jacobs' training camp thus far. The undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M has a lot of potential, and has put himself in the conversation to make the 53-man roster.
"A really good, young talent who just needs to see it live more and more," Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees said. "I think the upside on this guy is great.
"Is he there yet? No. He has a ways to go. But usually you can tell whether a guy has a ways to go and can get there or [if] a guy has got a ways to go and there's always going to be a ways to go. He has got a ways to go, but he's going to get there."
After the Ravens didn't draft a cornerback in May, Jacobs entered as one of several undrafted corners. Now he, Sammy Seamster and Deji Olatoye remain. Veterans added to the mix are Dominique Franks and Marrio Norman.
Since Lardarius Webb, Jimmy Smith, Asa Jackson and Chykie Brown seem to be virtual locks to make the roster, that leaves one or maybe two more cornerback spots open. Franks has played well and brings experience. Jacobs could pull off getting that last spot, and it seems that Pees wants to keep him around.
"I think this guy is going to be a really good player down the road," Pees said.
Jacobs is a 5-foot-11, 182-pounder who likes to press, which the Ravens like to do as a unit. He's often around the ball and has shown a willingness to throw his body into the fray.
Jacobs finished with the second-most tackles (four) on the team in the first preseason game against San Francisco, and had a pass deflection.
"Competitiveness is my strength right now," Jacobs said. "I'm just trying to get better every day. I go in the film room every day, I try to get extra time in the meeting rooms."
While the speed of the NFL is an adjustment for Jacobs, he cut his teeth covering a very talented wide receiver on a daily basis in college.
Jacobs practiced against Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans, who was drafted seventh-overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May's draft. Evans had quarterback Johnny Manziel (Cleveland Browns' 22nd-overall pick) throwing to him.
Jacobs will head back to Texas this Saturday night to try to prove himself as a professional in the Ravens' second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys.
"Mike Evans helped me a lot. He helped me a helluva lot," Jacobs said. "I would say [our battles were] 50-50. He would get me every now and then. He's a hell of a competitor; he made me better."
