Advertisement
football Edit

Jarron Jones Working Toward Major Role Again Along The Defensive Line

The nearly 6-5½ and 315-pound Jones provides a strong push and force in the middle.
The nearly 6-5½ and 315-pound Jones provides a strong push and force in the middle.
BGI/Bill Panzica

Jarron Jones isn’t in the military, but he appreciated the “Hurry up and wait” phrase often associated with it. Jones admitted he tried to hurry up coming back from his MCL surgery last August, only to have to wait longer while taking a step back from his recovery.

Coming off a strong junior campaign in 2014 before missing the final three games with a Lisfranc injury, the senior nose guard was projected to be a part of a powerful 2015 veteran line that included classmates Sheldon Day and Romeo Okwara, plus junior Isaac Rochell. Those plans went by the wayside Aug. 14 with a freak MCL tear in practice in which he didn’t even feel much pain.

“We initially thought it was just a sprain, rest it for training camp and be back for Texas [the season opener Sept. 3],” recalled Jones, before receiving the news from the MRI evaluation the next day that he would be sidelined for the season. “It caught me off guard and it hit me emotionally too because that was the last thing I expected to happen. … My knee wasn’t really sore.”

For a good portion of his first two seasons, the affable Jones’ love and intensity toward football was often questioned, prompting the coaching staff to even demote him to scout team work his second season. By the second half of his sophomore year in 2013, though, the 6-5½, 315-pound Jones began to blossom and he became a force in the middle. He also dominated the line of scrimmage against Florida State’s NFL-laden offensive line in Notre Dame’s heartbreaking 2014 defeat in Tallahassee.

“You don’t realize how happy you are while playing football when you’re without it,” Jones reflected earlier this month. “When you think about it, you work year round for pretty much three months out of the year where you get to play a true season. To go through that grind for the other nine months, it kind of wears on you.

“When you’re out of that and not around your teammates, you kind of learn to appreciate the things that you do that you are able to do. So I just learned to appreciate the game a lot more. I still sometimes complain about practice, but then I remind myself about, ‘Remember those times when I had to go home after class because I can’t practice and it sucked to just be around watching?’”

Because he had already taken a redshirt season as a freshman in 2012, Jones pushed himself to at least play in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State, where he unofficially totaled 13 snaps in the 44-28 loss to the Buckeyes. There was a price to pay for that rush job, and he conceded that his overcompensation toward his knee helped result in a stress fracture in his foot.

“I had to sit out a good portion of winter workouts,” Jones said. “That was a process of trying to heal my foot back up because the focus was on my knee when I was getting back. I did rush myself, but when you sit out that long you just miss it so much. You just have to get back.”

Consequently, there was some tentativeness on Jones’ part most of the spring while getting over the mental hurdle of his injuries, and the coaches used him sparingly in only certain packages. Jones said he would often start out a practice with intensity, but slow down once he started to feel stiffness.

Notre Dame defensive line coach Keith Gilmore noted how it wasn’t until the April 9 practice — the week before the Blue-Gold Game — when Jones began to turn the corner. In that session, he was knocked down and hurt his knee, temporarily was sidelined, shook it off and returned with a vengeance.

“He was playing kind of not to get hurt initially,” Gilmore said. “I think we got over that hurdle a little bit, and I think from here on out you’re going to see the guy we all want to see.

“I want him, No. 1, to be in great condition and, No. 2, to work on his flexibility to help him with his progress as far as being able to change direction and play with a better football base — and keep his feet moving. That’s when he gets in trouble, he gets high in his stance and stands up, kind of looks around. … If he can get his knees bent, his feet hot, then he’ll have the opportunity to avoid any injuries and just be a better player.”

“I felt like if I do too much I was going to get hurt,” Jones said. “Having that happen [on April 9] and not being hurt it showed, ‘I can still play, I’m ready.’ I’ve just got to focus in practice and keep getting better.”

In place of Jones last year, freshman Jerry Tillery and sophomore Daniel Cage played 351 and 262 snaps, respectively. Cage will remain a factor at nose guard — Gilmore considers him one of the strongest players on the team — while Tillery shifted to the graduated Day’s three-technique position. Because Tillery is adjusting to his new spot, Gilmore is not ruling out either Jones or Rochell also rotating there.

“Jarron knows enough about our defense to play some three-technique, and if it comes to that, he can possibly do that,” Gilmore said. "But I’d like to keep those guys fresh when they’re playing 30-35 snaps per game … maintain a high motor and do a good job.”

“I used to play three-technique in high school, so it’s just like being back in high school again,” Jones said. “Maybe I can have those stats. That would be lovely.”

So would being able to play a full season the way Day did last year to make himself a valued NFL prospect.

“It’s Notre Dame — all you need is one good fall,” head coach Brian Kelly said after breaking the news last August that Jones would miss the 2015 season. “You play well for one fall here at Notre Dame, it’s an on-Broadway play.

“Everybody’s going to see you. I just remind him of that — if he has a really good fall here, he’ll get plenty of suitors.”

Advertisement