Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
No Regrets for Notre Dame's Jarron Jones Heading into Senior Day
November 18, 2016
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Jarron Jones has seen the highest points of Notre Dame football, as he was a freshman on the team that went to the National Championship game in 2012 and he has seen the lowest points by going through the tough 2016 season.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder wouldn’t change a thing as he prepares for his last game in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday against the team he grew up rooting for.
“I am just happy I made it,” Jones laughed on Wednesday evening. “It’s just been a great five years here. Having the met the guys I have met, playing with the guys and coaches I have – everything has been great. Being here the past five years has been some of the best of my life.
“It’s going to be great to be out there against Virginia Tech, a team a grew up loving. I grew up a Virginia Tech fan. I started liking them when they had Michael Vick, but then up to my recruitment, I was a fan. Being able to play against them is kind of cool.”
Irish Sports Daily
Jarron Jones
The Rochester (N.Y.) has played in some big games and had some epic performances in huge games in his time at Notre Dame. The six tackle and three tackles for loss performance at Florida State will always stick with Notre Dame fans, but Jones will remember many more.
“At Michigan, there is no atmosphere like that,” recalled Jones. “That game my sophomore year was a crazy game even though we lost. Florida State was a crazy game. At USC my freshman year, the game that determined if we were going to the National Championship was a great game too.
“We’ve been to some crazy places. I am glad I came to Notre Dame, because a lot of teams play the same team each and every year. We play different teams. I’d never been to Oklahoma or out West before here. It’s just good to see the world and other schools.”
During his recruitment, Jones had been projected to end up on the offensive side of the ball at left tackle, but he made it perfectly clear to his recruiters that he had no interest playing offense.
“I told them off the jump when I started getting recruited that I would not play offensive tackle,” explained Jones. “That’s why Boston College and a couple other schools stopped recruiting me. I told them offense wasn’t for me.
“I love to tackle and I like to mess with offenses. If I was playing tight end, that’d be a different story because I’d be thinking about getting the ball. Offensive tackle isn’t for me.”
At Notre Dame, Jones has played a variety of positions, but he has found a home at nose guard, but he could end playing anywhere on the line at the next level with his size and athleticism.
“I was a 5-tech and 3-tech type of guy,” Jones said. “This nose guard thing has kind of worked out. I kind of like it. I am willing to play anything at at the next level. I played everything here. I was playing behind (Stephon) Tuitt, then I am playing 3-tech behind Sheldon (Day) and now I am playing nose guard. It was a fun five years.”
When it comes to the NFL, the fifth-year senior says he hasn’t given it much thought. However, Jones is sliding up NFL draft boards with his six tackles for loss performance against Miami.
“I really try my best to not focus on that, especially this early in the process,” stated Jones. “Everything is all over the place. Some say I am going 1st round and some say I am going as an undrafted free agent. You have to do the combine, pro day and whatever bowl game I end up playing in. There is just so much that goes into it and so much left to be determined. I try my best to not focus on it, because it doesn’t really matter at this point.”
As for this season, Jones is disappointed the Irish didn’t make a run like his freshman year, but he is proud of his team and feels everyone learned a lot about themselves over the year.
“It’d be very impressive,” Jones said of making a bowl. “It shows our team is very resilient. We were as bad as 2-5 at one point, so to finish the season 6-6, it would say a lot about the character about our guys, especially our young guys. Just being in these type of shoes, the schools we came from, we didn’t have losing season. I sure didn’t have one, so going through this season it was kind of a whole different ball game.
“It taught us a lot. Our coaches are guiding us in the right direction and keeping our heads up. It also brought out our true character in a lot of guys. A lot of our guys saw opportunities and made the most of them.”
When Jones takes the field for the final time on Saturday, he will be joined by his family, including his brother Jamir. There will be emotions, but Jones plans on trying to manage those until after the game is over.
“It’s time to go off,” Jones said of Senior Day. “It’s going to be emotional that it’s going to be my last game ever in Notre Dame Stadium. I will try my best to put that behind me. This is just going to be another Saturday to me until the fourth quarter ends.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder wouldn’t change a thing as he prepares for his last game in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday against the team he grew up rooting for.
“I am just happy I made it,” Jones laughed on Wednesday evening. “It’s just been a great five years here. Having the met the guys I have met, playing with the guys and coaches I have – everything has been great. Being here the past five years has been some of the best of my life.
“It’s going to be great to be out there against Virginia Tech, a team a grew up loving. I grew up a Virginia Tech fan. I started liking them when they had Michael Vick, but then up to my recruitment, I was a fan. Being able to play against them is kind of cool.”
Irish Sports Daily
Jarron Jones
“At Michigan, there is no atmosphere like that,” recalled Jones. “That game my sophomore year was a crazy game even though we lost. Florida State was a crazy game. At USC my freshman year, the game that determined if we were going to the National Championship was a great game too.
“We’ve been to some crazy places. I am glad I came to Notre Dame, because a lot of teams play the same team each and every year. We play different teams. I’d never been to Oklahoma or out West before here. It’s just good to see the world and other schools.”
During his recruitment, Jones had been projected to end up on the offensive side of the ball at left tackle, but he made it perfectly clear to his recruiters that he had no interest playing offense.
“I told them off the jump when I started getting recruited that I would not play offensive tackle,” explained Jones. “That’s why Boston College and a couple other schools stopped recruiting me. I told them offense wasn’t for me.
“I love to tackle and I like to mess with offenses. If I was playing tight end, that’d be a different story because I’d be thinking about getting the ball. Offensive tackle isn’t for me.”
At Notre Dame, Jones has played a variety of positions, but he has found a home at nose guard, but he could end playing anywhere on the line at the next level with his size and athleticism.
“I was a 5-tech and 3-tech type of guy,” Jones said. “This nose guard thing has kind of worked out. I kind of like it. I am willing to play anything at at the next level. I played everything here. I was playing behind (Stephon) Tuitt, then I am playing 3-tech behind Sheldon (Day) and now I am playing nose guard. It was a fun five years.”
When it comes to the NFL, the fifth-year senior says he hasn’t given it much thought. However, Jones is sliding up NFL draft boards with his six tackles for loss performance against Miami.
“I really try my best to not focus on that, especially this early in the process,” stated Jones. “Everything is all over the place. Some say I am going 1st round and some say I am going as an undrafted free agent. You have to do the combine, pro day and whatever bowl game I end up playing in. There is just so much that goes into it and so much left to be determined. I try my best to not focus on it, because it doesn’t really matter at this point.”
As for this season, Jones is disappointed the Irish didn’t make a run like his freshman year, but he is proud of his team and feels everyone learned a lot about themselves over the year.
“It’d be very impressive,” Jones said of making a bowl. “It shows our team is very resilient. We were as bad as 2-5 at one point, so to finish the season 6-6, it would say a lot about the character about our guys, especially our young guys. Just being in these type of shoes, the schools we came from, we didn’t have losing season. I sure didn’t have one, so going through this season it was kind of a whole different ball game.
“It taught us a lot. Our coaches are guiding us in the right direction and keeping our heads up. It also brought out our true character in a lot of guys. A lot of our guys saw opportunities and made the most of them.”
When Jones takes the field for the final time on Saturday, he will be joined by his family, including his brother Jamir. There will be emotions, but Jones plans on trying to manage those until after the game is over.
“It’s time to go off,” Jones said of Senior Day. “It’s going to be emotional that it’s going to be my last game ever in Notre Dame Stadium. I will try my best to put that behind me. This is just going to be another Saturday to me until the fourth quarter ends.”
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