Through his first 24 hours at rookie minicamp, Jones already sees a resemblance in how everyone at Halas Hall operates compared to his college days at Iowa.
“Even just being here yesterday, me meeting with coach Johnson, there’s a special resemblance to the way I was coached and taught at Iowa – the importance of the little things,showing up on time, the stuff that you might not think matters, matters here,” Jones said. “That’s why I think they’re so successful, because they do things right, and that just clicked with me and why I loved it. From the coaches, sports staff, everything, it’s just been amazing.”
Having spent six years with the Hawkeyes under longtime, highly-respected coach Kirk Ferentz, Jones took away several learnings to prepare him for the NFL, such as establishing professional habits and never taking the game for granted. While Iowa runs its program in a similar capacity to an NFL club, Jones knows being with the Bears is a whole new level and will require him to improve in a lot of different areas.
“Our offense, they put a lot on the center’s plate, which is honestly kind of fun. I kind of like that,” Jones said. “To be able to learn and grow and go through all that and just continue to learn the game, it’s going to be a lot of fun. I know I’ve got a long road ahead of me, but it’s something I look forward to.
“I’m not going to be perfect. Nobody’s going to be perfect, it’s an imperfect game. But as long as I continue to grow, learn, have fun, and then at the end of the day just play some football, keep it simple, run off the ball and block some guys.”
Jones will be competing for playing time on a veteran-laden offensive line that includes left guard Joe Thuney, center Garrett Bradbury, right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright. The rookie described the balance of having both urgency and patience as a “race against time,” adding that everyone is “trying to get better as fast as you can” knowing that training camp will be here before they know it.
For Jones, that means putting in extra work now to prepare himself for when it’s time to compete and soaking in any and all learnings from veteran players and coaches alike.
“The offensive line here is very talented — Joe Thuney, Garrett Bradbury, everybody on the offensive line,” Jones added. “So I’ve got to go out and earn everything. So to be able to come in with that group and to be able to learn under veterans, obviously we’re competing but we’re having fun at the same time.
“It’s such an honor for me to come in and be able to learn from those guys. Obviously you compete, and that’s part of the game as well. That’s why we’re here, right, to compete as if you’re a starter. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to it.”
While Jones will have to work diligently to earn playing time, he will most certainly be noticed on the field quickly because he is sporting No. 54, the number Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher wore during his legendary Bears career.
“When you think of the Chicago Bears, that’s kind of who you think of,” Jones said. “To see that number out in practice and stuff, it just lets everybody think, ‘Oh, that’s Brian Urlacher’s number.’ So it’s kind of supporting his memory and letting everybody see the legacy he left. So to be able to wear that number is really cool, and hopefully I get the chance to meet him one day, too.”
