Getting a bonus day in before long season

For five years, Jaycee Horn lived in the same section of the Panthers locker room: back left corner, between the treatment room and the equipment room, in a stretch of four lockers that put their occupants in a bubble — which was the best part for many of them. As time passed, it became laden with pass-rushers, and Horn was the lone defensive back among them.

So, this season, he moved.

“Too many OLBs,” he grinned when asked why he shifted lockers.

Now, Horn can hold court in the middle of the locker room, the anchor on a stretch of DBs that includes Mike Jackson, Lathan Ransom, Nick Scott, and Tre’von Moehrig, to name a few.

But Mike Jack runs a tight ship in that neighborhood and has a few rules for his section of lockers, namely that shoes can’t spill out of the locker, something he’s charging Ransom to pass along to Horn, since their lockers are now next to each other. There’s just one problem.

“He’s on Lathan’s side. (Lathan’s) messy,” said an exasperated Jackson. “Him and Nick. At least mine is organized.”

It didn’t take long to see the benefits of the new arrangements, with Isaiah Simmons and Will Lee III pulling Horn into a college football argument. And Horn, from his new perspective in the center of the locker room, was able to volley jokes back and forth with AJ Dillon.

Simply having Horn nearby feels like it’s made the defensive back stretch complete though. As for the mess, “That’s Lathan’s problem,” smiled Jackson.