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Former Dean College kicker Long Ding is currently attending the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie mini camp.

Ding signed as a free agent with the Jaguars after finishing his collegiate career at Norwich University.

Ding, who is a native of China, kicked for two seasons for Dean. He was the MVP in his final season with the Bulldogs in which Dean finished undefeated and lost by a point in the Valley of the Sun Bowl. He left Dean after the 2010 season to attend Norwich.

Contract negotiations between the Jacksonville Jaguars and franchise-tagged kicker Josh Scobee reportedly have come to a halt.

A league source familiar with the negotiations told The Florida Times-Union that part of the problem is the deal given to the Oakland Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski, who is the NFL’s highest-paid kicker. Janikowski signed a four-year deal worth $4 million per year two years ago.

But Scobee’s agent, Ken Harris, denied that Janikowski’s deal is holding up contract talks.

“Any claim that Janikowski’s contract is somehow the reason we don’t have a long-term deal yet would be a myth,” Harris said. “Josh’s current proposal used a few appropriate contracts as its basis, not just one. More importantly, his proposed (average per year) wouldn’t even register in the top couple of spots, even though his stats beat both of them last year.”

The Jaguars placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Scobee in March, but he hasn’t signed. By refusing to sign the tender, he isn’t under contract. He doesn’t plan to participate in the Jaguars’ offseason programs until he is.

“I have to give Josh a ton of credit,” Harris said. “He had me convey invitations to them on three different occasions to sit down, for he and I and their top brass to sit down together and talk, and that hasn’t come to pass.”

Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said during April’s NFL draft that he’s confident a long-term contract will be worked out.

“I’m confident that will happen in time,” Smith said, according to The Times-Union. “We want Josh Scobee here.”

Justin Blackmon sat out the final practice of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie minicamp this weekend because of “general soreness in his foot,” coach Mike Mularkey said Sunday, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.

Mularkey said he expected Blackmon to be ready for the Jaguars’ organized team activities in a week.

After Friday’s practice, Blackmon was soaked in sweat and still processing information from new coaches and teammates while learning a new system.

“Right now, I’m just a sponge trying to take it all in,” he said.

The Jaguars traded up last month to swap spots with the Tampa Bay Bucccaneers and draft the former Oklahoma State receiver. They sent the Buccaneers their No. 7 pick and a fourth-round selection (No. 101) in the deal to take Blackmon fifth overall.

Blackmon was a two-time All-American in college and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2010.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) The Jacksonville Jaguars have released cornerback Drew Coleman after one season, parting ways with a player they felt was one-dimensional.

Coleman played in all 16 games last season and saw action in nearly 50 percent of the defensive snaps as a nickel cornerback. But with Rashean Mathis and Will Middleton returning from injuries and Aaron Ross signing as a free agent, the team no longer saw a role for Coleman. He played sparingly on special teams, and the Jaguars didn’t think he could line up anywhere except the slot.

Coleman also was due to make a little more than $1.5 million in 2012.

Coleman spent the previous five seasons with the New York Jets. He signed a three-year deal worth up to $7.4 million with the Jaguars last July.

GILBERT, Arizona (Reuters) – A gunman, identified by local media as a prominent border militia leader and a reputed neo-Nazi, shot dead four people including a toddler girl in Arizona on Wednesday before apparently committing suicide, police said. The gunman opened fire at a house in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. He could not immediately confirm the identity of the gunman. The Arizona Republic newspaper, citing unnamed police sources, identified the suspected …