Britain Covey Proves to be a Jack of All Trades
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The cliche has been around the NFL for years and it fits when discussing Eagles’ rookie returner Britain Covey.
You couldn’t win with 53 Coveys but you can’t win without one.
The undersized and undrafted Covey excelled as a punt returner in college at Utah and finally broke through in that role against Tennessee in Week 13, but he’s also much more than that.
The 5-foot-8 Provo, Utah, native who is generously listed at 173 pounds is also a fledgling slot receiver. When the Eagles’ needed a holder for field goals and PATs after Arryn Siposs went down with a potentially significant ankle injury during the 48-22 rout of the New York Giants, it was Covey who got the call.
Heck, Covey even wanted to punt in place of Siposs because he can but the Eagles defaulted to placekicker Jake Elliott.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if the affable Covey offered to block for Elliott on the kicker’s lone punt attempt or drive one of the team buses back down the New Jersey Turnpike in what turned into a nuisance-like coating of snow after the game and after the Eagles had moved to 12-1 and became the first team to clinch a playoff berth.
There are typically no backup holders, kickers, punters, or long-snappers in the NFL but you also need in-game contingencies.
For that reason, there are certain players who take a snap or two as a holder before practice just to stay sharp, a role Zach Ertz had for a time in Philadelphia. Those who have had some long-snapping experience along the way also fire off a few here and there just in case with Mack Hollins once embracing that role under Doug Pederson.
Covey has been the backup holder because he used to do it in high school and was the backup holder for the Utes.
“In college, I was our backup holder for four years and I was always trying to get Coach (Kyle) Whittingham to put me in for a fake,” said Covey. “Here, it was kind of one of those things where it’s just adding value.
“You want the coaches to feel comfortable with you at every position. They can put me in on kickoff, as gunner, on kickoff return, blocker, whatever it is. It feels good to get the coaches that kind of confidence. No one panicked. I didn’t panic. The coaches didn’t panic. Jake is a good kicker, too.”
Coach Nick Sirianni confirmed that when asked if he was scrambling without Siposs available.
“I don’t know if scramble’s the right word," he said. "I know coach (special teams coordinator Michael) Clay and coach (assistant special teams coordinator Joe) Pannunzio and coach (special teams quality control Tyler) Brown were on top of it.
“Unfortunately, you practice those things, and you hope they don’t have to come to fruition, but you practice them, and you get ready for them.
“... With the roster sizes the way they are, you have to be ready for that. It was just, ‘Hey we might not like what’s going on right here but here's the plan, (wide receiver Britain) Covey you got to holder, Jake you got to punter, and let’s get through this and let’s make sure we’re on top of it everywhere else.”
Most importantly, Elliott stayed comfortable, hitting two FGs and three PATs with Covey holding.
“We got laces not at me every time, so that’s the main concern,” said Elliott. “But we were able to put them through. He did a great job stepping up.”
And it wasn’t by accident.
“It’s one of those things," said Covey, "where, if I’m the backup holder, I’ll be the best backup holder in the NFL."
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
