STARKVILLE — Chris Jones burst onto the college football scene as a freshman in 2013.
The Mississippi State defensive lineman had 32 tackles (seven for loss) and three sacks to earn freshman All-America honors. That performance suggested Jones could have an even better season in 2014.
But the Houston native’s statistics in his sophomore season — 26 tackles (3.5 for loss) and three sacks — didn’t match the numbers he posted as a freshman, but his name was mentioned as often as it was in his first year.
“I think he was kind of embarrassed by his sophomore year last year,” defensive line coach David Turner said. “What we saw last year was not the real Chris.”
Entering his sophomore year, Jones wasn’t trying to rest on his laurels after a strong first season. He wanted to get better, but it didn’t show up in games.
Jones is his biggest critic, so he knows how his sophomore season went.
“I criticize myself a lot,” the 6-foot-6, 308-pound junior said. “I’m never satisfied with myself because when you get satisfied with yourself you get complacent. Then you end up where you’ve always been.”
Even though his sophomore season wasn’t what he wanted, Jones still was named a preseason All-American by Sporting News and Phil Steele (third-team). Jones also made several preseason All-Southeastern Conference teams and was named to three award watch lists, including the Bednarik (best defensive player), Nagurski (top defensive player), and Outland (top interior lineman).
The preseason recognition doesn’t mean much to Jones, but MSU’s coaches want him to focus on that recognition.
“He gets a lot of preseason hype and all of this stuff,” MSU seventh-year coach Dan Mullen said, “but you have to play that way. If you are a preseason All-American, you better finish a postseason All-American. If not, you have done a really bad job because people thought you were supposed to be good and then you didn’t do it.”
Jones has the potential to be one of the best defensive linemen in the SEC and the country this season. As one of MSU’s most experienced lineman, teammates and coaches will look to him as the season gets deeper and deeper into autumn.
“We need him to play like a big-time player,” Mullen said. “We need him to play with a sense of urgency and to try and dominate games.”
Jones is putting what he learned from P.J. Jones and Kaleb Eulls to use and has accepted the role of leader for the defense. P.J. Jones and Eulls were mainstays on the defensive line for the past few years before their careers ended last season. Even though there were times Chris Jones thought he should be playing ahead of P.J. Jones and Eulls, he said he put that aside and soaked in as much knowledge as he could.
“Those guys taught me a lot,” Jones said. “I looked up to those guys.”
Jones has played in all 26 games in his career, but all of his three starts came in his freshman season. He should draw starts at defensive tackle every game this season, which could be his last with the Bulldogs, as he will be eligible for the NFL draft in April. Jones said his play last season and the opportunity to declare for the NFL raft following this season have fueled his mind-set for this season.
“I’ve got to be unblockable,” Jones said. “That’s every play, not just on one or two plays, but I’ve got to be consistent with it.
“I work on the smaller things, like the hand placement, foot placement and my steps — small things like staying low.”
Turner has seen Jones tackle the work in front of him in the two weeks of preseason camp with a purpose.
“Chris Jones has worked harder than he’s worked the previous two years, which is good,” Turner said. “It’s his time. Everybody knows his talented, but he’s got to put the work ethic, the time off the field into the game, and work at his craft when he’s out there.”
Jones could write himself into MSU’s record books with a big season. That is one of the main things pushing him to give his all in the hot days of summer leading up to MSU’s season opener at 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Southern Mississippi.
“I just want to leave a mark and play with a chip on my shoulder because of last year,” Jones said. “I wanted to achieve so many things and I feel like I let myself down.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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