Post by maury77 on May 7, 2015 11:13:51 GMT -5
i think taiwan jones might be the replacement for harris.
Taiwan is a very good prospect, especially as an UDFA.
Article from January 2015, on him prior to Combine, Pro Day, etc.
www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2015/01/24/taiwan-jones-michigan-state-nfl-draft/22252229/
EAST LANSING – Typically underrated at the time and now looking like one of Mark Dantonio's best hauls, the recruiting class of 2011 (Rivals.com national ranking: 31) will supply fifth-year seniors in bunches to a 2015 championship push — players such as Connor Cook, Shilique Calhoun, Jack Allen, Donavon Clark, Brandon Clemons, Ed Davis, Darien Harris, Joel Heath, Lawrence Thomas and RJ Williamson.
One member of that class didn't redshirt. And even in San Diego, focused on realizing his NFL dream, Taiwan Jones still thinks of it as his class. His team.
"We can contend for a national championship," Jones said of the 2015 Spartans. "We have to find a middle linebacker, two corners able to compete game in and game out. It'll be a great competition (at middle linebacker) between Riley (Bullough) and (Jon) Reschke. Whoever wants it more."
Jones wanted it a year ago and got it, switching to middle linebacker as a senior and collecting 60 tackles and four sacks to help the Spartans finish 11-2 and ranked No. 5 in the nation. The move fit his frame — 6-feet-3, 259 pounds at the end of the season — and he was at his best in physical encounters. But now he'd like folks to remember his first three seasons at MSU.
The knock on Jones is that he's an "old-school" linebacker, built to stop the run but suspect in coverage, entering a league that is all about executing and stopping the pass. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said as much on a Tuesday teleconference when asked about Jones.
"Jones is a true (middle) man," Kiper said. "In the old NFL, back in the '60s, '70s, '80s, he would have been a third- or fourth-round pick. But you need guys that can run and cover better. To me, he's more of a midround type of guy now."
As Jones tells anyone who will listen and tried to demonstrate during practices for last weekend's East-West Shrine Game for outgoing seniors, his first three seasons at MSU were spent at the "star" outside linebacker spot. That's a coverage-heavy position, and Jones had 41 games there with 17 starts.
He played around 245 pounds those first three seasons, the first of which was spent mostly on special teams while backing up Chris Norman at the "star." Jones pushed 260 as a senior, earning All-Big Ten second team with 121/2 tackles for loss, and now he's working out in San Diego as a Sportstars client to get back to 245.
Mike Huguenin of NFL.com wrote last week that Jones "might be the most physical player" in the East-West Shrine game, but Jones also believes he surprised people with his mobility. The NFL scouting combine, Feb. 17-23 in Indianapolis, and MSU's pro day March 18 will be key for Jones in continuing to make that case.
"I feel like last week helped me out a lot," said Jones, who is working out with former MSU teammate Tony Lippett, among others, in San Diego. "I had a good week out there, showed some good things to the scouts, proved a lot of things they said I couldn't do. I think I made them think otherwise, showed I can be an every-down linebacker, instead of just a two-down linebacker. I think a lot of times people forget what I did my whole career — they remember what you did last."
Jones' senior year had plenty of moments to remember, and some to forget. He was at his thumping best in wins over Michigan, Nebraska and Baylor — he called the U-M game the best performance of his career, and he led the charge that held the Bears to minus-20 yards in the Cotton Bowl, allowing the Spartans to roar back for a 42-41 win.
Losses to national finalists Oregon and Ohio State, though, included some mistakes before and after the snap. Jones would like a do-over on the Buckeyes' 49-37 win in East Lansing.
"We probably could have come together more as a team, done a better job studying our opponent," he said. "And then in the game, when we had the game in our control, we should have kept it in our control. We let it get away."
Still, Jones leaves MSU with 42 wins, 183 tackles, a Big Ten title, two division titles and a 4-0 bowl record. And he's right in the mix with several teammates to hear his name in the draft — after projected first-round pick Trae Waynes, Jones joins Lippett, Jeremy Langford, Kurtis Drummond and Marcus Rush as realistic mid-to-late hopefuls.
Jones works in the sun and warmth, often in drills on sandy beaches, to make it happen. And when he gets bored at night, he has the Cotton Bowl on DVD.
"That game, to me, is better than the Rose Bowl," he said. "That game showed Michigan State will never quit, will fight to the end. That game is who we are."
Meet Taiwan Jones
Who:
Spartans linebacker.
Age: 21.
Vitals: 6-3, 259 pounds.
From: New Baltimore.
2014 by the numbers: 60 tackles, 121/2 tackles for loss, four sacks.
Did you know? Named second-team All-Big Ten by coaches.
One member of that class didn't redshirt. And even in San Diego, focused on realizing his NFL dream, Taiwan Jones still thinks of it as his class. His team.
"We can contend for a national championship," Jones said of the 2015 Spartans. "We have to find a middle linebacker, two corners able to compete game in and game out. It'll be a great competition (at middle linebacker) between Riley (Bullough) and (Jon) Reschke. Whoever wants it more."
Jones wanted it a year ago and got it, switching to middle linebacker as a senior and collecting 60 tackles and four sacks to help the Spartans finish 11-2 and ranked No. 5 in the nation. The move fit his frame — 6-feet-3, 259 pounds at the end of the season — and he was at his best in physical encounters. But now he'd like folks to remember his first three seasons at MSU.
The knock on Jones is that he's an "old-school" linebacker, built to stop the run but suspect in coverage, entering a league that is all about executing and stopping the pass. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said as much on a Tuesday teleconference when asked about Jones.
"Jones is a true (middle) man," Kiper said. "In the old NFL, back in the '60s, '70s, '80s, he would have been a third- or fourth-round pick. But you need guys that can run and cover better. To me, he's more of a midround type of guy now."
As Jones tells anyone who will listen and tried to demonstrate during practices for last weekend's East-West Shrine Game for outgoing seniors, his first three seasons at MSU were spent at the "star" outside linebacker spot. That's a coverage-heavy position, and Jones had 41 games there with 17 starts.
He played around 245 pounds those first three seasons, the first of which was spent mostly on special teams while backing up Chris Norman at the "star." Jones pushed 260 as a senior, earning All-Big Ten second team with 121/2 tackles for loss, and now he's working out in San Diego as a Sportstars client to get back to 245.
Mike Huguenin of NFL.com wrote last week that Jones "might be the most physical player" in the East-West Shrine game, but Jones also believes he surprised people with his mobility. The NFL scouting combine, Feb. 17-23 in Indianapolis, and MSU's pro day March 18 will be key for Jones in continuing to make that case.
"I feel like last week helped me out a lot," said Jones, who is working out with former MSU teammate Tony Lippett, among others, in San Diego. "I had a good week out there, showed some good things to the scouts, proved a lot of things they said I couldn't do. I think I made them think otherwise, showed I can be an every-down linebacker, instead of just a two-down linebacker. I think a lot of times people forget what I did my whole career — they remember what you did last."
Jones' senior year had plenty of moments to remember, and some to forget. He was at his thumping best in wins over Michigan, Nebraska and Baylor — he called the U-M game the best performance of his career, and he led the charge that held the Bears to minus-20 yards in the Cotton Bowl, allowing the Spartans to roar back for a 42-41 win.
Losses to national finalists Oregon and Ohio State, though, included some mistakes before and after the snap. Jones would like a do-over on the Buckeyes' 49-37 win in East Lansing.
"We probably could have come together more as a team, done a better job studying our opponent," he said. "And then in the game, when we had the game in our control, we should have kept it in our control. We let it get away."
Still, Jones leaves MSU with 42 wins, 183 tackles, a Big Ten title, two division titles and a 4-0 bowl record. And he's right in the mix with several teammates to hear his name in the draft — after projected first-round pick Trae Waynes, Jones joins Lippett, Jeremy Langford, Kurtis Drummond and Marcus Rush as realistic mid-to-late hopefuls.
Jones works in the sun and warmth, often in drills on sandy beaches, to make it happen. And when he gets bored at night, he has the Cotton Bowl on DVD.
"That game, to me, is better than the Rose Bowl," he said. "That game showed Michigan State will never quit, will fight to the end. That game is who we are."
Meet Taiwan Jones
Who:
Spartans linebacker.
Age: 21.
Vitals: 6-3, 259 pounds.
From: New Baltimore.
2014 by the numbers: 60 tackles, 121/2 tackles for loss, four sacks.
Did you know? Named second-team All-Big Ten by coaches.