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Reshad Jones 'brings hat' to work: Q & A with Georgia product

March 9th, 2010 By Patrick Green

Jones, at 6-2 and 215-pounds, was a premiere player in the secondary for the Bulldogs for three seasons. No, Georgia did not field its typical stellar defensive unit in 2009, but that was to no fault of Jones. This past season, the Booker T. Washington High School product tallied 73 tackles, good for second best on the team, and four interceptions, which led the defense.

Don’t mistake Jones for an overnight thriller, though. He appeared in 13 games as a redshirt freshman, starting two, and notching 57 tackles for an 11-2 Sugar Bowl Georgia squad. In 2008, Jones bullied through any prospects of a sophomore slump, picking off a team-high five interceptions and piling up 76 tackles.  

I was able to catch up with Reshad this week as he took a break from his workout routine to discuss the upcoming Draft and all points related.

Tell me what you’ve been doing since the season’s been over.

I’ve been in Westlake, California, training with Travelle Gaines of Elite Athletics. We’ve been doing a lot of work, getting my performance where it needs to be. I wake up at 7 in the morning and go through two workouts a day. The first starts at 8 a.m.; in the morning, I’m generally doing all the running, all the agility exercises. I come right back for the second workout at 11 and do the weights, keeping my strength up. I’m not working on anything in particular. I stay pretty balanced, just doing the body exercises so that I can do well in drills. 

You’re definitely a long way from Athens. What other Draft prospects have you been working out with?

It’s important for me to be in a place where I can focus. We’ve been doing some great work here. And I’ve worked out with a lot of guys since the season has been over. Ryan Matthews of Fresno State, Donovan Warren out of Michigan, Lamarr Houston of Texas, Oklahoma’s Dominique Frank, SMU’s Emmanuel Sanders. Those are just a few.  

You’re working out with and competing against to a degree guys that are headed in the same direction as you. How confident are you going into the Draft?

I’m pretty confident. I know it’s going to be a DB class this year. That’s something I’ve heard a good bit and see myself with just the guys in the Draft. A lot of guys at safety might go high, so I feel pretty comfortable that I’ll have a shot.  I’m hearing a lot reports that potentially have me in the second round. That’s been consistent.

When someone leaves prior to his senior year, he has to be quite certain of his prospects. Was there a particular moment during the season that proved to be the deciding factor or was it a number of influential variables?  

 It wasn’t really a particular game or play. I kind of went into the season with the mindset to work hard and be the best I could be. I also talked to Coach Richt and he felt as a coach that basically I had done all I could do on the collegiate level, so that’s what kind of got me over the hump in that I felt comfortable in leaving school. Basically, I felt the time was right and that I was mentally and physically ready for the next level. I wouldn’t have made the decision if I felt otherwise. 

People use different gauges and measuring sticks to identify where they are at, competitively speaking. Was a there a player or offense that you encountered that you used for that purpose of gauging your ability?

When we played Georgia Tech this year, they had a pretty good offense, as far as the run, the option, and so forth, and they had supposedly one of the top receivers (Demaryius Thomas) in the country. I covered him in the slot and one-on-one and kind of felt that I played him pretty tough, held up with him pretty good. (Jones had seven tackles and one interception in the Bulldogs’ 30-24 win over the then seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets.) So that gave me a boost, a vote of confidence that I was ready to play man-to-man coverage even on the next level. People rated him as an NFL caliber receiver. It was an important game, and I felt like I showed up. 

You mentioned the next level. Georgia’s defensive secondary is rich in history. Champ Bailey immediately comes to mind. Sean Jones, Thomas Davis, and Tim Jennings, more recently, have had success in the NFL. Did you feel any pressure going into your role as a leader on that defense knowing the prestigious history?

I just looked at it as a different goal, a different opportunity. There’s a long legacy of great guys that played in the University of Georgia secondary. A lot of guys have gone on to the next level and have had success.  (Sean Jones, now with Philadelphia, has started all but six regular games since 2006 and has 246 tackles and 16 interceptions in his six seasons; Davis has started in all 53 regular season games in which he’s played since 2006 and has 312 tackles in five seasons, all with Carolina) I wasn’t intimidated at all when my time came. I feel I am a competitor and a ball player and this was a great opportunity to display my talents. I didn’t want to step away from that challenge.

Being that you aren’t in unchartered waters as far as Georgia and the NFL are concerned, is there anyone you looked to as a mentor of sorts during your time in Athens? 

[Former University of Georgia receiver] Mohamed Massaquoi was and is a guy I looked up to in regard to seeking advice. (Massaquoi just completed his rookie season with Cleveland, starting 11 games and scoring three touchdowns on 34 receptions and 624 yards.)I played with him and we went through a lot of the same things. He’s a pretty smart guy, so he’s somebody I would listen to. He told me about the League, that it’s a business, and that I should take everything seriously. He emphasized that the goal has to be to support yourself and your family. This is your job. Really, he just shared the little things with me - pointers here and there that have helped me as far as my road to the NFL. And so far, there haven’t been many surprises to the process. It’s all been straightforward, pretty much just like he said it was going to be.   

Speaking defensively, are there any players in the League right now that remind you of you? 

Yeah, Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Pro Bowl strong safety who has 452 tackles and 20 interceptions in seven seasons). He’s an  interchangeable, versatile safety who  can come up and be the extra hat like myself in the run game and make those stops, or be your two man slot receiver cover, deep end safety, or  ball hawk going back there making plays. Some guys can only play free safety and roam but might be undersized and can’t play up. And some guys can just play in the box and are liabilities elsewhere – Polamalu and myself, we’re very versatile in that we can play both styles and play both styles effectively.   

What would be the ideal situation for you in late April?

It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m not particular about teams. I’m just ready to contribute right away. That’s the ideal scenario. That’s my only goal – to jump in on special teams right away and help out and compete for a starting job in the secondary. Those are realistic goals, I believe. The destination is not where my head is focused. 

You say you are out in California. Your family is still in Atlanta. How have they handled the process? 

I was raised by my Grandma and Granddad (Richard and Louise Hindsman). They’ve probably been more overwhelmed than I have been because no one in our family has ever been through something of this magnitude. It’s a new process, so they’ve been learning to deal with what goes on with something like this. Overall, they’re really happy for me and want me to succeed. They’ve been that way my whole life. I have a great support system with my grandparents. .

You’re moving on professionally, but have they expressed an interest in you getting your degree from Georgia?

Oh yeah. I only have 12-15 more credits to finish. It’s very important. They’ve told me that they want me to graduate. I want to finish up for myself, first, because I know an education is vital to being successful in this society. I want to finish for them, too, because I know what it means to them. I’ll be the first person in my family to graduate from college. I don’t take something like that lightly.   

Time is getting scarce now. Is there anything left undone, something that can propel you up in the Draft? Something that you control?

My Pro Day is on March 15th and that’s a pretty big day. I think if I run within the 4.4 range that can shoot me up a couple more Draft slots. I’ve seen a lot of reports on me. Some of them say that I’m more athletic than they thought I was, that I have pretty good ball skills, I move well, and can open my hips and run. I think those are essential. Speed is that next thing for me. I haven’t run slow but I haven’t run fast, either. Picking that time up would definitely help my case. I think that can be a big help for me or any person trying to move up a couple slots in the Draft.  

-            Patrick Green, DraftNasty.com staff writer, has been writing professionally for more than a decade. He is the author of two novels, Josie’s Missing Syllabus and Son Down; and while both works deal with topics beyond the athletic landscape, each exposes a social scope involving sports as an underlying theme. Green has covered high school, college, amateur, and professional football during his career, having written for newspapers in Augusta, Ga., and Charleston, South Carolina. To learn more about Patrick Green, visit www.greeninkpub.com.  

 

 

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