Tony Jones Jr. Gushing With Confidence After Big Game At Louisville

Tony Jones Jr. got the start at running back on Monday night and didn’t disappoint as he carried 15 times for 110 yards and one score in the 35-17 at Louisville.
 
The senior running back wasn’t necessarily surprised with his performance as his new position coach Lance Taylor has pushed him over the last nine months.
 
“I’m more confident in myself,” Jones stated. “I know the plays better and Coach Taylor tells me to think I’m the best player on the field and no one can stop me.
 
“I felt amazing. This was probably my second career start and I think I did well. I showed Coach I’m growing up and I can take the load and be a leader.”
 
The added confidence has allowed the Florida native to play faster. Jones isn’t thinking as much and just playing.
 
“When guys think a lot, they move slower because they don’t want to make the wrong cut,” stated Jones. “Coach says to make a cut and keep going with it.”
 
The confidence was on display on a 3rd-and-13 as Jones ran for 35 yards and led to a touchdown a few plays later to tie the game at 14.
 
“I saw they were in a three-down front and the backers were back,” Jones recalled. “I knew it was going to be money. We run it a lot in practice and they never expect it. I just pressed it and kept going with it.”
 
It wasn’t all pretty for the Irish offense on Monday, but Jones was glad they got it out of their system in week one.
 
“At times we showed we’re a great team,” said Jones. “At times, we were a little sloppy. We have to fix that in the next week.

“I’d rather get all of that out now than when we are in the meat of the schedule and we can be in midseason form.”
 
Jones will need to maintain the high level of production as his running mate Jafar Armstrong is expected to miss the next five to seven weeks.
 
“Stay healthy and stay in the film room,” Jones explained. “I have to keep being confident in myself.
 
“That’s all on me. The sky is the limit and I have a lot of room to grow.”