Blue White Illustrated

would always ask, ���Why are you doing this, and how are you doing that?��� That���s why as a coach we���d say, ���Deion, put your hand down because what you���re going to say has nothing to do with football.��� ��� His mother, Cynthia, said that���s simply who her son is. Sure, Deion Barnes is the returning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a star-in-the-making after finishing with six sacks in his debut season while adding 10 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles, fourthmost in the conference. And with his sophomore collegiate season on the horizon, his Penn State coaches and teammates have been gushing about the 6-foot-4, near-250-pound pass rusher, whose recent performances in spring practice have only reinforced the acclaim. But Barnes has more on his mind than just football. His mother calls him a deep-thinker with a strong interest in everyday politics, African-American history and his family tree, in addition to his football responsibilities. ���He likes world events, what���s happening around the globe,��� Cynthia Barnes said. ���He likes to talk about stuff like that, and I do, too. That���s why I miss him so much, because we���d go food shopping or something like that and I���d have him in the car. Then we���d start talking about things like that.��� When the pads go on, it���s a different story. Cynthia said she wasn���t surprised at her son���s breakout performance in 2012, and she���s even less surprised about the attention he���s receiving this spring, because she knows how dedicated he is to the sport. Barnes said he���s been putting in extra work this spring. He���s packed on nearly six pounds since Penn State most recently weighed him at 244, and he���s also improved his speed and reaction time. Last season he ran a 5.1second 40-yard dash; this year, he���s shaved that down to 4.8. All this he attributes to early-morning runs and squat workouts with strength and conditioning guru Craig Fitzgerald, ALONG CAME JONES DaQuan Jones looks to follow in the footsteps of his NFL-caliber predecessors | aQuan Jones had his opportunities last season. He made frequent appearances in the opponent���s backfield, and sometimes he would get an arm around a running back as he burst through the line or would come close to tipping a pass as it sailed overhead. Often, the big defensive tackle found himself in perfect position to make a gamedefining play. But for one reason or another, those plays didn���t happen. For Jones, it was a season of missed chances. Lately, he���s been watching film of those performances, and he���s been frustrated with what he���s seen. More than frustrated, actually. ���It���s almost like a sickening feeling,��� he said. ���A lot of people tell me, ���You guys did good.��� But I���m going to tell you, I���m really hard on myself, and there are a lot of plays I could have made last year that this year, going in, I can���t miss.��� D When Jones watches those tapes, he sees his own performances juxtaposed against those of teammate Jordan Hill, who in 2012 put together another outstanding season to back up his sensational junior year. The implicit comparison allows Jones to see where he needs to improve. ���I was in the backfield a lot in the passing game, but I think this year being in the backfield isn���t going to be enough,��� he said. ���It���s not going to cut it. It���s making that sack and not missing it and not flushing out to the open field. It���s just small stuff like that. Instead of being in the play, I���ve got to make the play now. It���s a huge difference, and that���s something I have to do this year.��� A true senior with three seasons of significant experience ��� including 11 starts last year ��� Jones will be a key player for Penn State this coming fall. He���s taking over a posi- tion at which the Nittany Lions have been strong in recent years. Jared Odrick was a first-round draft pick in 2010, and Devon Still was a second-round pick in 2012, while Hill is expected to be chosen in the first five rounds of the upcoming draft. Rated by Rivals.com as the No. 2 prospect in New York for the Class of 2010, Jones has the size, speed and pedigree to continue Larry Johnson���s string of success stories. But he will have to earn his place among the elite. By his own admission, Jones needs to be quicker off the ball, nastier and more physical if he is going to influence the game in a way that can be identified on the stat sheet. He said he wants to be ���more aggressive and more physical at the point of attack.��� He intends to ���assert myself at the line of scrimmage and then go and make a play.���

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