Jones very definite about his plans for a bowl date

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- J.J. Jones is beginning his fifth season as an Arkansas football player, but he has yet to go bowling as a Razorback.
While Arkansas is coming off back-to-back New Year's Day appearances against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl and Texas in the Cotton Bowl, Jones missed those games because of injuries.
In 1998, Jones, a linebacker from Magnolia, became a starter and helped the Razorbacks to a 9-2 record,. Between the end of the regular season and resumption of practice, Jones was in a car accident and suffered strained back and neck muscles which caused him to miss the Citrus Bowl.
Last season Jones started three games before being sidelined by a broken bone in his left wrist. He received a medical redshirt, enabling him to play this season.
"Missing any game is hard, but I can't even explain how tough it's been to sit and watch our bowl games the last two years," Jones said. "I don't plan on missing another bowl game this season.
"I plan on the third time being the charm, and I plan on it being a Jan. 1 game. I don't want to accept anything less."
If the Razorbacks play in a third consecutive New Year's Day game for the second time in school history -- the only time they've done it was the 1961 Cotton Bowl and 1962-63 Sugar Bowl -- Jones figures to have a key role in making it happen.
Arkansas lost 13 starters from last season's 8-4 team, and Jones is one of only 10 scholarship seniors.
"J.J.'s leadership and experience is invaluable to us," defensive co-coordinator Bobby Allen said. "We're going to be counting on him for a lot."
Junior defensive tackle Sacha Lancaster said Jones' teammates appreciate what he's gone through.
"He's put in all the hard work and sweat just like the rest of us, and it's unfortunate what's happened to him with the injuries that have kept him out of the bowl games," Lancaster said. "Hopefully, now that we've got J.J. back for another year, we'll be able to send him out the right way by playing in another New Year's Day bowl game."
Allen said Jones isn't a vocal leader, but is good at working with young players and making sure they know what's expected of them.
"When J.J.'s on the sidelines, you'll see him with one of the younger guys, coaching him up," Allen said. "He's also a great leader by example, showing how it's done on the field, in the class room, in the weight room."
Jones, who is on schedule to graduate in December with a kinesiology degree, would have been a good redshirt candidate in 1996, but he played as a true freshman because the Razorbacks needed his help at linebacker and on special teams.
"As a true freshman, I really didn't know what was going on," Jones said. "When I played, I was out there basically trying to make sure I didn't mess up.
"Now I'm trying to make plays and be a force to help this team.
"As a fifth-year senior, I feel more ready, more mature, more confident in my ability to play than ever."
Jones, 6-0 and 235 pounds, is teaming with senior Quinton Caver -- a nominee for the Butkus Award -- to give Arkansas one of the top linebacker tandems in the country.
With Caver and Jamel Harris, a senior last year, able to stay healthy at the linebacker spots, the Razorbacks were able to maintain their strength at the position despite Jones' injury. Having Jones back is a bonus Arkansas' coaches weren't counting on a year ago.
"Last year I was so discouraged when J.J. got hurt, but now I'm so happy that we've got him back," Coach Houston Nutt said. "He's going to be such a difference-maker for us."
Arkansas is picked to finish anywhere from third to sixth in the SEC West in preseason forecasts. If the Razorbacks are mentioned in bowl talk, it's usually games such as the Independence Bowl or Music City Bowl.
But Jones said he is focused on playing on New Year's Day, and he doesn't see why the Razorbacks can't do it again.
"We may be young in some spots, but we're loaded with talent," he said. "Once our young guys get their feet wet, we'll be in good shape."
Jones noted that Arkansas is undefeated at home in Nutt's two seasons (12-0) and opens this season with five home games against Southwest Missouri State, Boise State, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana-Monroe.
"With our first five games being at home, if we do well and get our confidence built up, anything can happen," Jones said. "It's a matter of belief, and I believe we're going to do well.
"I don't think there's a game on our schedule we can't win."
But can the Razorbacks win enough games for Jones to finally go bowling on New Year's Day?
"I believe J.J. is going to make it this year, I've got a good feeling about that," Nutt said. "We're certainly going to try and do everything we can to help him get there, because he deserves it."

This article was published on Sunday, August 27, 2000

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