The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
52 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2015 "I would teach some of our players on de- fense as a senior in high school. I was held to a high standard, as if I was a coach, but that helped me play better." Jones figured he would end up at Utah or Duke, but when the Pack offer finally came, it was an easy choice. He admits he isn't a carbon copy of his older brother — whose nickname "Killa," was proudly dis- played via a tattoo on his arm — although that was probably a good thing. Coaches later admitted to Jones they weren't sure exactly how to handle his brother's tough- love approach to his teammates. "Growing up, the goal is to go from our high school and to somehow get to NC State, but only two people have re- ally ever done it — my brother and Chris Hawkins," Jones said. "Once NC State of- fered me, I didn't want anything else. It's just a family thing. "They knew I was a good kid and I wouldn't be the same exact person as him, but I was going to have a lot of the same athletic ability as he had. I'm not nearly as aggressive as he was because he was a crazy person, but I feel like I'm a little more athletic than he was." Rude Awakening Jones will admit he came to NC State raw. He may have had an advanced foot- ball IQ for his high school squad, but this wasn't prep ball. He could no longer get by on just his natural talents anymore, either. After having never done a back squat in the weight room before arriving the sum- mer prior to his freshman year, that would quickly change. The 2011 roster featured defensive backs David Amerson, C.J. Wil- son, Earl Wolff and Dontae Johnson; all of who are playing in the NFL now. Bran- dan Bishop, who has been in NFL training camps and on practice squads, and Jarvis Byrd, whose career was derailed by three ACL tears, were also veterans on that team that took Jones under their wing. From day one, Wolff and Byrd started dragging Jones along to their offseason workouts, which were not always limited to one per day. "I saw the way Earl and Jarvis worked out, those guys were doing crazy leg work- outs; jumping rope and doing pushups be- tween every set," he recalled. "They forced me to do it with them, so I'm waking up sore, but the next morning they would call me early to come do footwork drills or run sprints. "I was like, 'This can't be real life,' but I couldn't tell them no." It was a learning experience for Jones because Wolff and Byrd, in particular, were from two opposite ends of the recruiting spectrum. Wolff was a former unknown who earned his offer at a summer camp but was already starting, while Byrd was a highly touted four-star prospect from Florida. "Nothing was handed to those guys, and seeing they had the same work ethic was an eye-opener," he said. "I was a guy that came from basically nowhere, and after seeing those guys put in all that work that I had never seen before, I had to do the same thing if I wanted to be great." From Follower To Leader Now, Jones is sure to bring along young guys when he gets in his own early morn- ing workouts. He knows they need to be shown the way, and he has benefitted from some good teachers. The secondary that has graduated to the NFL has passed the torch to Jones and classmate Juston Burris, and they have been told that they must keep the tradition in the defensive backfield going. "When they come back, they still tell us that we have to be next because they don't want to be the last of a dying breed," he said. "But it's still coming along with [red- shirt sophomore] Josh Jones, [sophomore Germaine] Pratt and even [redshirt junior] Niles [Clark] played with them back then. "Just playing with those guys gave me so much more of an edge and it gave me the ability to teach younger players when they left. They passed on that will and courage to be able to teach a lot of the players under me." Now, Jones is the ringleader of the de- fensive backs. He is always organizing their get-togethers outside of the football building. He says having great relation- ships and communication off the field will carry over between the white lines. His goal is to get the secondary per- forming like it did when he was the young player learning behind future pros — the 2011 squad led the country with 27 inter- ceptions. He also wants to ensure he grabs a few picks of his own after posting three prior to last year, when he was unable to record an interception. "It's definitely getting back to that point," he said. "I would never say we are as good as they were because that was who I looked up to. Juston and I had the op- portunity to play with those guys, but we never felt like we would be in their place because of who they were and how much they taught us. "Time flew by. When I started, I didn't think I'd be at this point at all, so it's really a blessing." ■ "I was a guy that came from basically nowhere, and after seeing those guys put in all that work that I had never seen before, I had to do the same thing if I wanted to be great." ■ Jones on being a freshman at NC State and learning from the veteran players Jones has three career interceptions, a total he plans to add to this fall. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS