Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers in the Pros, Herana-Daze Jones
8/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 24, 2005
Jones finished his career with the Hoosiers as the fourth leading tackler in IU history (342 total stops), named second team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by the coaches in 2004. During his senior campaign the defensive back, who spent his first two collegiate years at linebacker and final two at safety, ranked third in the Big Ten with a career-high and team-leading 110 tackles (70 solo, 40 assist), an average of 10 per game last season.
Jones' collegiate career helped prepare the NFL prospect achieve the ultimate dream of playing in the pros.
Jones, while preparing for the upcoming season, took time out of his schedule to give an inside look at the Bengals training camp at Georgetown College, in Georgetown, Ky.
"Training camp is going pretty well so far," Jones said. "It is not that much different from college to the professional ranks, as far as camps go."
Jones, noting the similarities between training with IU and the Bengals camp, who he signed a free-agent contract for the 2005 campaign, notices with the increase in level comes an increase in talent.
"There is a lot more hitting involved, and it's definitely more competitive everyday," Jones said. "While IU prepared me a lot for what I am encountering in the pros, you definitely can't come to practice on any given day of the week and bring anything less than your `A' game. People are here to work, and they show up for their job ready to play. When you are competing for positions, everyday is a test of your skill and you can't give anything less than your best. It's also different in that you are solely focused on football. Unlike when you are in college worrying about classes, too. Here it's all about the game."
The biggest preparation for Jones coming out of the college ranks was his experience of butting helmets with Big Ten competition.
"Playing in the Big Ten helped a lot," Jones said. "I faced good athletes every time the team walked onto the field against a Big Ten school. Most of the guys were bigger, and the practice of playing with physical and bigger players prepared me a lot for what I am experiencing at training camp."
Jones is remaining realistic regarding the learning curve from college to the pros.
"It's not that hard to adjust, but it will take some time," Jones said. "The game of football is still the game of football, whether you are playing in the lower ranks or in college. Learning the new positions, the playbooks and defensive setups is going to come in time. The team helps out whenever you need it and all you have to do is ask, but I pick up fast and learn from watching the other experienced guys run the plays and setups. There also is learning the new up-beat tempo and speed of the game in the pros that takes time to get adjusted to."
As the adjustment will come in time for the IU alumnus, Jones still finds the reasons that he stays on the field the same for college as it is now in the pros.
"You have to have a love for the game to come out and work this hard everyday," Jones said. "It can't be about the money. While that is an aspect of the professional game, if you don't have the heart to compete and work this hard day-in and day-out, you will not make it. It's a strenuous profession and you can't enter it from the job mindset, while it is my job, to play in the pros demands a love for the game."
The former Hoosier standout still holds a love for the game, but acknowledges that at times that was not the only thing that kept him under the helmet.
"My mom (Olivia Jones) has been a big foundation for me all my life," Jones said. "She has always been there to support me through everything since I started playing when I was young. I can't forget all the coaches in high school either, they also helped me get where I am in my life. My coaches influenced me greatly on the field, but my high school counselors did a good job of ensuring that I was making a good educational decision so that I could achieve a diploma after my four years of collegiate football."
Jones knows that if the day comes that he doesn't make it in the pros, he can always fall back on his dream of returning back to school.
"I have always wanted to go to law school," Jones said. "I don't want to practice courtroom or judicial law, but practice working for a agent company in contract law dealing with player and signing contracts. If I can't play that's fine, but football has always been a part of my life and I would like to stay around the game for as long as I can, on or off the field."
Jones hopes that his prior experience, and his days in camp with the Bengals, will make it possible for him to have a long-lasting career in the NFL.
