Post by camo0309 on Nov 30, 2011 20:34:06 GMT -5
Darrell Jones
Early Years
It started the first time his father took him to a football game. From the moment he saw as the team walked out onto the field, and how the fans reacted to all of the happenings before, during, and after the game, Darrell Jones fell in love with the sport that is football. It is a sport where some of the most gifted athletes go as far as even sacrificing their bodies to do what they love: play football. It is the sport where even your average Joe can sit in the stands or even on his couch back home and watch as his heroes play the game, experience the highs and lows of “their team,” and give them his full support regardless.
So like many other children that realize their love for the game, Darrell started dreaming that someday it wouldn’t be a matter of just rooting for his team, but rather leading his team. And so he decided to try to play the game himself.
Darrell’s father, in his younger years, had a similar dream and tried to make it to the big leagues himself. However, while he did have plenty of talent, he always lacked the work ethic to actually make it to the pros, and wound up dwindling away before getting the chance. So when he discovered that his son wanted to give it his own, he wanted nothing more than to make Darrell succeed.
You often hear a story about somebody’s father getting too caught up with their children’s lives and trying to live through them, but Vincent Jones took that to the extreme, even in Darrell’s own early years. Every day, Darrell would be pushed to practice for hours in some way, whether it was through conditioning exercises or even going out and playing a small game, regardless of the weather. There were times when Darrell even wondered if all the work his father was forcing him into doing was even worth it. But he never walked away…
High School
Then came high school, where his commitment to the game really came to a test. It was no longer about just his father pushing him to work harder, now he had to deal with an actual coach pressing him to help his team work for championships. Of course, it certainly wasn’t easy. He was on the JV team his first two years, where he had a mediocre to average performance to show, and then when he did make Varsity his Junior year, he was unable to earn a full time starting spot, so simply worked in occasionally when the other guys needed a break or in the infamous “garbage times.”
His senior year, however, he exploded. Fed up with the thought of all his hard work toward the game potentially being for naught, he went into his first game as the team’s number two corner with a huge chip on his shoulder. And on the first defensive play of the game, he came up huge for his team with an interception, which he returned for a touchdown. He would then go on to get another interception in the same game, and from there the bar was set.
Of course, he didn’t live up to the expectations he set for himself after that first game, but he still had a superb season, being promoted to number one corner just three games into the season. And while he never did get to lead his team to a state championship like he had hoped, he did help them get quite close that year, only to lose a heartbreaker two shy of the championship game. At that point, bigger worries came across Darrell’s mind, such as what was going to happen beyond that year…
College
While the most talented of high school football players began receiving scholarships to go play for big-name colleges, Darrell Jones waited and never received. And so he decided to go with his top choice out of the schools he was accepted into to, Missouri State University. It was a school where he could follow through with his “backup plan” to get his degree and try to get a job outside of football, but also a school where he would be able to play football at the same time.
As a walk on to the Bears, Darrell once again had to sit through over a year of not being able to play, and then another good portion of rarely being able to play. That is, until his teammate and one of the team’s starting cornerbacks tore his ACL, thrusting Darrell out into the spotlight. And once again, he excelled in his first big chance. While he wasn’t really known as much of a playmaker, with the exception of that game back in high school, he was always known as a guy that could hold his own and keep up with whatever receiver he was matched up against.
At the end of his four year tenure at Missouri State, Darrell left the field for the last time as a good coverage cornerback who just didn’t have enough help around him to make a serious run for, well, anything newsworthy. But once again, Darrell was left more concerned with whether or not he had anything left of his football career waiting ahead of him.
And Beyond
Darrell entered into the NFL draft with the wild hope that maybe, just maybe somebody might take a chance on him as somewhat of a “project player.” But by the end of it all, his name was still on the board. Even after the undrafted free agency signing period, still no calls were sent Darrell’s way.
Just as Darrell was about to call it quits on his dreams and move on to get a “normal” job with his degree, he got a call. Not a call from any NFL team, but rather a call from one of his father, to tell him that he did still have one last chance: the UFSL, a league where misfits and unwanted semi-professional players could go in and play in a mediocre-at-best playing field to try to make a name for themselves.
As it was his last chance to try to live out his dream, Darrell felt he had no choice but to try to go for it. Upon joining he was quickly seen as one of the top draftees in the inaugural draft, on his way to being selected second overall to play for the St. Peter Griffins.
And the rest, as they say, is history…
Pros
Speed: As a cornerback, it is important to be able to keep up with the receiver they are matched up with, no matter what. And with a high top speed, few are able to do so better than Darrell Jones.
Acceleration: Like speed, acceleration is another skill that is huge for a cornerback. In fact, unless you can get to your top speed quickly enough, then having that top speed is pretty useless. Jones, however, is able to get to his top speed relatively quickly.
Size: When your cornerback is as tall or taller than the receiver he's covering, you simply don't see the receiver having a clear advantage on balls thrown relatively high to them. And at 6'6, you won't be seeing too many receivers taller than Jones.
Cons
Catching ability: He simply isn't the big playmaker type of guy that will come up with big interceptions when you need one.
Agility: He's more of a strictly sideline-type diffender, where that a receiver capable of making quick cuts would certainly be a mismatch, advantage to the receiver.
Tackling: As a coverage-type corner, one of his glaring defensive weaknesses would be that he struggles with following through on his tackles, and has a number of his attempts broken.
Early Years
It started the first time his father took him to a football game. From the moment he saw as the team walked out onto the field, and how the fans reacted to all of the happenings before, during, and after the game, Darrell Jones fell in love with the sport that is football. It is a sport where some of the most gifted athletes go as far as even sacrificing their bodies to do what they love: play football. It is the sport where even your average Joe can sit in the stands or even on his couch back home and watch as his heroes play the game, experience the highs and lows of “their team,” and give them his full support regardless.
So like many other children that realize their love for the game, Darrell started dreaming that someday it wouldn’t be a matter of just rooting for his team, but rather leading his team. And so he decided to try to play the game himself.
Darrell’s father, in his younger years, had a similar dream and tried to make it to the big leagues himself. However, while he did have plenty of talent, he always lacked the work ethic to actually make it to the pros, and wound up dwindling away before getting the chance. So when he discovered that his son wanted to give it his own, he wanted nothing more than to make Darrell succeed.
You often hear a story about somebody’s father getting too caught up with their children’s lives and trying to live through them, but Vincent Jones took that to the extreme, even in Darrell’s own early years. Every day, Darrell would be pushed to practice for hours in some way, whether it was through conditioning exercises or even going out and playing a small game, regardless of the weather. There were times when Darrell even wondered if all the work his father was forcing him into doing was even worth it. But he never walked away…
High School
Then came high school, where his commitment to the game really came to a test. It was no longer about just his father pushing him to work harder, now he had to deal with an actual coach pressing him to help his team work for championships. Of course, it certainly wasn’t easy. He was on the JV team his first two years, where he had a mediocre to average performance to show, and then when he did make Varsity his Junior year, he was unable to earn a full time starting spot, so simply worked in occasionally when the other guys needed a break or in the infamous “garbage times.”
His senior year, however, he exploded. Fed up with the thought of all his hard work toward the game potentially being for naught, he went into his first game as the team’s number two corner with a huge chip on his shoulder. And on the first defensive play of the game, he came up huge for his team with an interception, which he returned for a touchdown. He would then go on to get another interception in the same game, and from there the bar was set.
Of course, he didn’t live up to the expectations he set for himself after that first game, but he still had a superb season, being promoted to number one corner just three games into the season. And while he never did get to lead his team to a state championship like he had hoped, he did help them get quite close that year, only to lose a heartbreaker two shy of the championship game. At that point, bigger worries came across Darrell’s mind, such as what was going to happen beyond that year…
College
While the most talented of high school football players began receiving scholarships to go play for big-name colleges, Darrell Jones waited and never received. And so he decided to go with his top choice out of the schools he was accepted into to, Missouri State University. It was a school where he could follow through with his “backup plan” to get his degree and try to get a job outside of football, but also a school where he would be able to play football at the same time.
As a walk on to the Bears, Darrell once again had to sit through over a year of not being able to play, and then another good portion of rarely being able to play. That is, until his teammate and one of the team’s starting cornerbacks tore his ACL, thrusting Darrell out into the spotlight. And once again, he excelled in his first big chance. While he wasn’t really known as much of a playmaker, with the exception of that game back in high school, he was always known as a guy that could hold his own and keep up with whatever receiver he was matched up against.
At the end of his four year tenure at Missouri State, Darrell left the field for the last time as a good coverage cornerback who just didn’t have enough help around him to make a serious run for, well, anything newsworthy. But once again, Darrell was left more concerned with whether or not he had anything left of his football career waiting ahead of him.
And Beyond
Darrell entered into the NFL draft with the wild hope that maybe, just maybe somebody might take a chance on him as somewhat of a “project player.” But by the end of it all, his name was still on the board. Even after the undrafted free agency signing period, still no calls were sent Darrell’s way.
Just as Darrell was about to call it quits on his dreams and move on to get a “normal” job with his degree, he got a call. Not a call from any NFL team, but rather a call from one of his father, to tell him that he did still have one last chance: the UFSL, a league where misfits and unwanted semi-professional players could go in and play in a mediocre-at-best playing field to try to make a name for themselves.
As it was his last chance to try to live out his dream, Darrell felt he had no choice but to try to go for it. Upon joining he was quickly seen as one of the top draftees in the inaugural draft, on his way to being selected second overall to play for the St. Peter Griffins.
And the rest, as they say, is history…
Pros
Speed: As a cornerback, it is important to be able to keep up with the receiver they are matched up with, no matter what. And with a high top speed, few are able to do so better than Darrell Jones.
Acceleration: Like speed, acceleration is another skill that is huge for a cornerback. In fact, unless you can get to your top speed quickly enough, then having that top speed is pretty useless. Jones, however, is able to get to his top speed relatively quickly.
Size: When your cornerback is as tall or taller than the receiver he's covering, you simply don't see the receiver having a clear advantage on balls thrown relatively high to them. And at 6'6, you won't be seeing too many receivers taller than Jones.
Cons
Catching ability: He simply isn't the big playmaker type of guy that will come up with big interceptions when you need one.
Agility: He's more of a strictly sideline-type diffender, where that a receiver capable of making quick cuts would certainly be a mismatch, advantage to the receiver.
Tackling: As a coverage-type corner, one of his glaring defensive weaknesses would be that he struggles with following through on his tackles, and has a number of his attempts broken.
