Duke quarterback Daniel Jones played himself out of NFL first-round draft projections last year, but the work before him to bounce back into the 2019 first-round discussions is about more than arm strength or mobility.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound redshirt junior has shown plenty of both since he was freshman leading the scout team against Duke’s defense.
Jones’ potential was best on display in last season’s second game, a 41-17 win over Northwestern. He threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108 and two more. The TD tosses were 52 and 1 yards and the runs 11 and 4. That was reminiscent of 2016 and beating Notre Dame 38-35 in only his fourth career start. He passed for 290 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-32 tosses.
But in last year’s 10th game, Duke lost at Army 21-16. Jones threw for only 164 yards on 19-of-30 completions with an interception and zero scoring tosses. Worse, he was sacked four times for 36 yards and thus netted only 22 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Why the difference?
One reason was Jones played with an upper-body injury the second half of the season, but more so he blames himself for failing to recognize defenses and not putting his linemen in the right spots to protect him. Improving in that area can have as much to do with his future projections – if not more – than his health.
That makes Army a great measuring stick to open the 2018 season when the Black Knights face the Duke at 7 p.m. Friday at Wallace Wade Stadium.
The Black Knights aren’t replacing their defensive scheme from confusing Jones with multiple pass rushers and pressure points to simple bull rushers this year. Army doesn’t recruit that type of talent to take on an Atlantic Coast Conference school.
“Army’s pressure is not as much from one-on-one battles,” Jones said. “They bring different pressure and give you different looks to try and confuse you and get you to go the other way. That’s on my shoulders to make sure we’re in the right situation, the right protection, to make sure we can be successful. I think we have a good plan this week to handle those pressures and those different looks. It’s very much my responsibility we’re in position to protect.”
That Jones can confidently explain how he has to be better at the game mentally says much about how he’s grown more comfortable as a starting quarterback on and off the field. They are expected to speak for a football team second only to the head coach.
That was adjustment for Jones when he was thrust into the starting role just a couple weeks before the 2016 opener following a season-ending injury to returning starter Thomas Sirk. Jones wasn’t comfortable at first. Now he can interpret the nuances of questions. They’re not all serious, and he can grin at the right time. He had a deer-in-the-headlights look at some of those early 2016 media sessions.
“You get used to the routine,” Jones said. “Off the field I’ve been able to get more comfortable; you get practiced in a lot of these things. It’s an important part of my position, what I’m asked to do, and I try to take it seriously.”
The contrast between Jones’ Northwestern and Army games in 2017 explain his inconsistency, but his overall performance wasn’t without special numbers. Jones, Clemson’s Kelly Bryant and Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke are the only returning quarterbacks that threw for 2,500-plus yards and rushed for 500-plus.
Jones finished 2017 completing 257-of-453 passes for 2,691 yards and 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He ran for 767 yards, but when he 249 in losses are added in (sacks are rushes in college football) his totals were 161 carries for 518.
He also finished strong in the Quick Lanes Bowl, earning MVP honors in the 36-14 win over Northern Illinois that gave Duke a 7-6 record. He was 27-of-40 for 252 yards with with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He ran 16 times for 86 yards and one TD, although he was sacked twice for 10 yards.
“I think Daniel sees himself as a guy that should be a complete player,” Duke Coach David Cutcliffe. “He’s got to manage a game at line of scrimmage and show more ability to do that. He’s got to make great decisions in the passing game. He has got to put 10 other people in the best position to be successful.
“One of the things I want him to grow in is purely the consistency of his fundamentals. If you’re good mentally and fundamentally you rarely make bad plays. I think he’s looking forward to being a more consistent to help his team win.”
It’s hard not to imagine Jones improving on his 2017 yardage figures – especially the passing yards with three returning starters at wide receiver and depth at tight end. But the numbers to watch are fewer interceptions and fewer yards lost as a result of making better protection calls at the line of scrimmage.
Then he might climb back into those first-round draft projections along with Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, Missouri’s Drew Lock and West Virginia’s Will Grier. He might even pull ahead of them.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055
Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page
Leave a Reply