Jones takes old-school road to NFL
Published 9:02 am Wednesday, April 27, 2016
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Les Miles always tried to make the best of the annual exodus of LSU juniors heading to the NFL draft.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He played the proud papa role, grinning and wishing them and their bank accounts well … and mostly making sure any interested recruits would notice what an NFL pipeline the joint had become.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Maybe he should parade out Deion Jones as the Alternative Tiger — on several counts.</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This year’s draft, which begins Thursday, will be relatively uneventful for the Tigers, at least by recent years’ standards.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">No need, really, for LSU to even watch the drawn-out first round Thursday night, and no more than four or five are expected to be drafted at all (oh, but just wait until next year when the first round might be tinted in purple and gold).</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This year?</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Jones, the linebacker they call “Debo,” could be the first Tiger taken (if not, probably cornerback Jalen Mills). Maybe early second round, certainly no later than the third.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Either way, it’s a win for him.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And Miles should be just as proud — probably more proud — of Jones as he was for all those early first-round evacuees of recent years.</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Jones isn’t the typical draft pick from LSU. By some standards he would be a failure in LSU’s long NFL lineage.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The path he’s taken to the verge of pro riches isn’t exactly the LSU Way.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The accepted route is to gather up rating stars from the various recruiting services while in high school, start as an LSU freshman (or at least make a splash), make all-SEC as a sophomore and, by your junior year, have know-it-alls speculating whether you should sit out the bowl game rather than risk injury before declaring for the draft.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But Jones is living proof that there’s something to be said for patience. Jones overcame the stigma of being an LSU football senior still on campus.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Oh, that’s probably too strong. LSU has had the odd senior stick around to complete a sterling career.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But the really amazing thing was that Jones was still a Tiger for his senior year. He didn’t even start until last season.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He was as touted as most Tigers recruits when he came out of Jesuit High School in New Orleans. And the measurables are all there.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Miles said he was slowed a bit as a freshman because of a nagging shoulder injury.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Still, he obviously had talent. The coaches knew he could play.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But he got stuck on the depth chart behind Kwon Alexander, now a rising star with the Tampa Bay Bucs. He had only one start (due to an Alexander injury) before his senior season.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">There’s an easy solution to that dilemma for many players — find another school and transfer.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">How else is the NFL ever going to spot you?</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Jones wasn’t easily deterred. Instead, he stuck it out at LSU, did the best he could with whatever opportunities came his way, mostly with the often anonymous job of being a very athletic special teams terror.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But when he finally got his chance, he made the most of it. He was not only LSU’s defensive MVP last year, he really was the Tigers’ best defensive player —</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">100 tackles, 13.5 for loss, five sacks, two interceptions, one of them a pick six. Although obviously not on the preseason checklist, he was one of five finalists for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">More importantly, perhaps, he got invites to the Senior Bowl and the NFL combine, doing well at both.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But he really turned heads at LSU’s Pro Day before the usual Who’s Who’s of NFL scouts when he reeled off an unworldly time of 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Even I wasn’t expecting that,” he admitted.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Saints’ brain trust took him to dinner that night.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Not a lot of linebackers in history will run like that,” Miles said. “Maybe the fastest linebacker that I personally have been around that had any size to him at all. That fits into the NFL game as a guy that can move and make plays and has ball skills. He’s going to fit right into the NFL game.”</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Google the NFL scouting reports today and the only question marks are experience (only one year as a starter) and being a bit undersized (6-1, 220) for an outside linebacker.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Teams will value Jones’ athleticism, reliable open-field tackling ability projects well to NFL defenses relying on speed,” reads one report.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">NFL.com chimes in: “Speed to chase from sideline to sideline. Accelerates off his spot and into his target preferring to wrap up and drive hips through the tackle. Brings pop behind his pads. Trustworthy.”</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He’s also being projected as the rare NFL linebacker who can play all three downs.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Fourth down, too, since due to his purgatory at LSU, they know he can play special teams.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“His NFL arrow is pointing north,” the CBS scouting report said.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Not bad for a guy who didn’t land a starting job until his senior year.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I had to wait my time here,” Jones said. “You cannot pout on the sidelines. You have to be patient.”</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Patience. Hard work.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">What a concept.</span>
<span class="R~sep~AZaphdingbatdot7pt">l</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Scooter Hobbs</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">covers LSU</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">athletics. Email him at</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">shobbs@americanpress.com</span>
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<p class="p1">Follow Scooter Hobbs on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ScooterAmPress">twitter.com/ScooterAmPress</a>
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