College football

Year off has Bulls DE pumped

Senior Tim Jones added weight to go with burning desire to begin play in the Big East.

By GREG AUMAN
Published August 12, 2005

TAMPA - When the Big East preseason football poll had USF seventh out of eight teams, Tim Jones didn't agree, but he didn't argue.

"It seems like everybody doesn't think we're going to be all that good this year," the senior defensive end said. "If you look at the record last year, I understand where they're coming from. At the same time, we have a lot of talent on our team. We have to get together, stay together, and then the sky's the limit."

Few people watched the Bulls' 4-7 season last fall from as close - or as frustrating - a perspective. Jones made the decision in August to take a redshirt season, allowing him another year on scholarship and a chance to play in the Big East this fall. The Bulls had their first losing season in seven years.

"It was very tough. You see how the season went," Jones said. "That record didn't show how much talent we have. It was very frustrating to see the team self-destructing. It was just horrible. I wanted to play, but at the same time I wanted a whole season."

Jones' absence from the defensive line wasn't easy for coach Jim Leavitt to accept either.

"It was difficult for me. I was very selfish in a lot of ways," Leavitt said. "I knew it would be tough on our team because he was our best defensive player. Boy, that hurts you. It hurt our defense. (But) I always told our players, if you want a redshirt year, I'd allow them to have it. I didn't want to go back on my word. But I had a few days where I was frustrated."

Two of the Bulls' best defensive players are, in fact, older players: Jones and safety Johnnie Jones (no relation), another senior who sat out last season with a medical redshirt after a gunshot wound to his neck and shoulder in December 2003. Now the 22-year-olds are back as leaders and key contributors to a defense that will need a real resurgence to make the Bulls competitive in the Big East.

"With me and Johnnie, we have experience back on the defense. It's something we need," Jones said. "We have a lot of younger players. All the seniors are leaders, but you don't have to be a senior to lead. I think the younger players pick up on good tendencies. They see when people do what they're supposed to do."

Jones is used to changing roles. The player from Lakeland started at USF as a tight end, actually playing on offense and defense in one 2002 game before switching to defensive end. He shined there in 2003, starting all 11 games on the left side and totaling 48 tackles, including 13 for losses.

The year off allowed him to focus in the weight room, and he added 15 pounds, now at 280. He's listed on USF's depth chart as the 6-foot-3 starting nose tackle, but he gives the Bulls more flexibility, able to line up at all four line positions.

The time away from the football field has helped him academically, and he's on pace to graduate this spring with a degree in interdisciplinary social sciences, with an eye on teaching math or social studies. He's hesitant to accept a role of leadership - "I know sometimes I might do something or say something a leader shouldn't do," he admits - but his coaches have noticed progress in that part of his game as well.

"He has not been the kind of leader he is now. He's been more vocal. He's been a standup guy," Leavitt said. "He's worked harder than I've ever seen him work. He played scout team the whole fall. Think about the investment he made."

Jones thinks about it every day. He remembers how hard it was to watch last season, pacing the sideline in a jersey and jean shorts alongside redshirting freshmen. His motivation then is his motivation now: making the most of USF's first season in the Big East.

"Everything you do is going to have to come to an end. I'm ready to go, ready to play, ready to get it going," Jones said. "Sitting out a whole year, that will do that to you."

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 00:47:15]