Brandon Jones – December 2, 2021
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Thursday, December 2, 2021
S Brandon Jones
(Do you feel like you’re going to be able to play Sunday?) – “Yeah. I’m preparing to play Sunday. I’ve been going through practice, preparing and keeping my same routine that I’ve always had each week.”
(Was it more of the elbow or the ankle that kept you sidelined last week?) – “More of the elbow.”
(Is it feeling better?) – “Yeah. Feeling better for sure.”
(Was it tough watching that game last week seeing everyone making big plays and you probably wanting to be out there?) – “Yeah, it was eating me alive. The way the defense played it was awesome to see and fun to be a part of. It was killing me on the inside when people got picks or sacks. My first instinct is to try to run on the field and celebrate with them but I had to keep my composure in that aspect. It hurt but I was really happy for just how the team played overall as a whole.”
(Was it fun to see from the outside the complementary way that offense, defense and special teams all kind of worked together? I’m assuming when you’re not playing, you kind of see the game differently.) – “Yeah, it’s always super interesting because when you don’t play, you realize a lot more. You can actually take the time to digest and pay attention to small details and stuff that you usually don’t really focus on during the game because there is so much going on from a play-call standpoint and stuff like that. It was really awesome to be able to play complementary football, play fast, start with the blocked punt and go from there.”
(Prior to you missing last Sunday’s game, there were a couple of games where you and S Jevon Holland started alongside each other, which would be on of the youngest safety combos in the league. I know both of you guys are really studious – you study a lot. Is there anything that the two of you decided collectively you needed to do to prepare outside the building together, quiz each other just because there is so many communication responsibilities?) – “We do a really good job to just talk before the play. Especially if we have time to huddle, if the offense isn’t going fast tempo, we’re always in the back looking at the formations and literally talking and deciding what we’re going to do and stuff like that. Off the field, being able to get together, we’ve been able to get together a lot, watch film, stay after meetings and talk over and go over everything that we’ve learned, and take a dive into the stuff that we’re going to practice the next day, and get a head start from that standpoint.”
(Is that usually in the building or do you ever go out to eat and discuss it then?) – “Nah, I’m not going to eat with him. (laughter) No. I’m playing. (laughter) We never go out to eat. It’s mostly just here. Jevon is a goofball. I think it’ll be a dangerous dynamic if we ended up hanging out outside of the facility, in a good way obviously. But mostly yeah, it stays in the facility.”
(I’m curious about goofball. Why is he a goofball?) – “He’s super intelligent, obviously. I don’t know. Just the stuff he says. He’s a funny dude. Like a real funny dude. He’s different in a good way is the best way I could put it. Just from the stuff that I see him post on Instagram, which is hilarious to the TikTok videos that he sends me. He literally always has me crying laughing. He’s definitely a goofball. I can’t believe I just used that word to describe him but it is what it is. (laughter)”
(If you had a veteran third safety who – if it wasn’t a good guy, it would be difficult – but S Eric Rowe seems to be one of the best people you’ll meet. How easy has he made the transition and avoided any potential awkwardness. The fact that he is such a good guy, our snaps increasing, S Jevon Holland’s increasing, maybe his have gone down some.) – “Eric is one of the nicest people I know. He’s done an awesome job, even since I got here of just helping me better myself as a player. Even with just small-detailed stuff, whether it’s man coverage, a better way of using my feet, using my hands, and just talking through scheme stuff. Like I’ve told you all before, I struggled a little bit with the playbook and stuff in my role last year. He was a really big part of helping me feel comfortable on the field. He just continues, no matter the situation, he always continues to help me grow and strive for greatness. He’s been a really big part of my success.”
(I know you guys get caught up in the moment week to week because that’s what you have to do, but do you ever think about the possibility that you and S Jevon Holland could be a tandem for a while given your young age right now?) – “That would obviously be awesome and really cool to keep building. I think it’s really interesting how much we’ve been able to grow and we haven’t even played with each other that long. With that and how everything flows so easily for us, it’s definitely exciting to be able to see that and see our growth and continue to build on what we’ve already established, and just kind of grow from there.”
(You’re going to be wearing the Dell Children’s Hospital cleats for My Cause My Cleats. What does that mean to you and an update on Jayden, how is he doing?) – “Jayden is doing good. He’s actually about to start driving, which is pretty cool. I’ve stayed in contact with him. I talk to him pretty frequently. He actually sent me a video that his friend made. It was basically a highlight video that his friend made of my highlights and stuff this year. Him and his friend put a lot of work into it, so it was cool to see. He keeps wanting to challenge me – I don’t know why – in some type of raceor a seven-on-seven, like a celebrity seven-on-seven game. So when I get back to Austin, I’m going to have to try to put something together, obviously. I’m not going to take it easy on him. I’m going to try to win, obviously. But it’s been really cool, and obviously with my cleats dedicating them to Osteosarcoma, and just being a part of everything that he’s been through with having to get his leg amputated and going through that whole cancer process. It’s been truly a special part of my heart to be a part of that with him and his mom. I’m really happy with where our relationship has been and obviously just going to keep continuing to grow in that aspect.”
(When you look at your individual season thus far, the good and maybe if there’s not so good, I don’t know. What do you see when you put it all together? How do you assess your season?) – “I think it’s definitely – I’m really hard on myself when it comes to growth and you never play a perfect game. But in my mind, I still strive to have a perfect game. When I don’t, my first thing is to figure out what I did wrong and critique it and go from there. I think I’ve played decent. I think there is obviously a lot of growth in a lot of areas that I can attack this offseason, which I’m excited about, just to continue to grow my game. I think I’ve played ok.”
