The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
50 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2015 BY RYAN TICE I nitially, fifth-year senior safety Ha- kim Jones was known as the little brother of former NC State line- backer Ernest Jones, who started every game and ranked second on the team with 113 tackles as a fifth- year senior in 2007. That was fine with him because he looked up to his older sibling, who for much of his childhood was his central male figure after their dad passed away due to leukemia when Hakim was 5 years old. After earning a scholarship from the Wolfpack late in his senior year, he fol- lowed Ernest's path from Henderson, N.C., to Raleigh. Once the younger Jones got to NC State, he found himself in the shadow of others again. He redshirted at linebacker and then earned playing time after moving to safety in a secondary that included five future NFL players. Now that all of those players are in the pros, Jones has made a name for himself. He led the Wolfpack with 80 tackles last year and is the leader of one of the ACC's most experienced secondaries heading into 2015. Although far from finished, it has already been a heck of a journey for Jones. He doesn't go back much to the neighborhood where it started, both because his mother moved his senior year of high school, and because it's not always a welcoming place to those doing well away from it. Rough Upbringing Jones remembers that when his brother was at NC State, he would really get on Er- nest if he ever missed a tackle or did some- thing the youngster could see was not right. It was the first — and only — semblance of a sibling rivalry due to the significant age gap between the two and the nature of their relationship. "I'd always get on him real hard, and I didn't even really play defense back then," Jones remembered with a laugh. "I would be waiting for him to do something wrong, but as I got older, I began to respect the game of football and respect the things that I had seen him accomplish. It became more like him teaching me and he was more of my father figure coming up, so I listened." Jones also recalls with great affection the sacrifices his brother made. Growing up, Ernest always brought Hakim along if he could. After he left for to college, he would routinely make the hour-long drive home to see his family. Despite balancing the many demands of being a collegiate student-athlete, he would then trek back to campus with Hakim in tow before eventu- ally returning him home. "That was very important because it was just me and my mom growing up," Jones said. "He would take time out of his busy schedule to come get me and bring me to his room, even when he was practicing throughout the day or had hard workouts. Him just wanting to be around me instead of being with his friends meant a whole lot. "I needed that male role model growing up, as all young men do." One time when Ernest returned home, his car was shot multiple times. Hakim knew that it was far from an accident, but luckily nobody was hurt. "It was that kind of neighborhood," he noted. "If you make it out, they're going to hate you badly for it. They're not used to anybody making it out. "Honestly, I think my brother felt as if he had to make it, as a way to show me there's a way out of the neighborhood we came from. It was a bad place. He had to make sure that I saw that instead of becoming a statistic." During their time together, Ernest would try to help Hakim on the field, as well as off. They studied defensive schemes and watched film. It got to the point where the defensive coordinator at Southern Vance simply told his players to listen to Hakim. "My knowledge of football was ridicu- lous for being in high school," Jones said. TIME TO SHINE Safety Hakim Jones Was Overshadowed Early On, But Won't Be In His Final Year Jones, a fifth-year senior, led the Wolfpack in tackles last season with 80. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS