Jones provides UH with rock-solid presence at left tackle
Josh Jones says not everyone can be a leader.
The University of Houston senior always knew he could be one, but he is smart enough to know that such a role on a football team is more difficult to claim than a starting position. Those tend to go to the fastest and the strongest.
After a redshirt year as a freshman, Jones earned the starting nod at left tackle, and he has been a starter there ever since. The leader tag didn’t come so quickly.
“Everybody coming in to play Division 1 football was some kind of leader in high school, but when I came in as a freshman, I wasn't ready to lead at this level,” Jones said. “We had amazing captains like Kenneth Farrow and Elandon Roberts, and when you're not one, you just want to take stuff from each guy you see as a leader.”
Jones said being more vocal was a challenge and he wasn’t as comfortable with that aspect of leadership. But he has grown into it.
Yet, no matter how much talking he now does, whether it is to the group or to an individual off to the side — “Sometimes that is a better approach,” he says — setting the proper example is always important.
That work in the summer, when no one is watching, is what results in success on Saturdays in the fall, when everyone is paying attention.
“You have to make sure you’re always working, because guys are always looking,” Jones said. “Make sure you do the right
thing, make sure they see you doing the right thing, so they can do the right thing.
“I feel like this is what the team needed. Not just somebody to be vocal, but to be there every day, pushing everybody to get better. That’s what the seniors did for me when I got here, and I want to follow that example. That example led to a Peach Bowl.”
Jones, who originally committed to Oklahoma State before switching to UH, was among those early Tom Herman recruits who established #HTownTakeover. Two coaches later, the Fort Bend Bush graduate, who has already earned a degree at UH, hopes to be among the leaders who show the city has indeed been taken.
“I feel like Houston (high school) players are more interested and more actually want to come check out what's going on here,” Jones said. “It's made a turn for the better.
“I remember you couldn’t even buy new UH merchandise in the store. I wasn’t seeing any posters and banners, but now I feel like they're everywhere.”
“Mentally, he matured, he grew up,” his father Bobby Jones said. “A lot of that was due to Coach Herman staying on him, trying to give him confidence.
“I know there was a time he didn’t want to play any more. That freshman year as a redshirt was really hard. But I’m so proud of him and how he handled that.”
Bobby Jones played quarterback in high school at Port Arthur Jefferson and then played and coached semi-pro football with the Houston Buccaneers and the Katy Cowboys.
He said as his son’s confidence grew, so did his game. Jones’ stature among teammates is now fully established.
At 6-7, 310 pounds, with long arms and surprisingly nimble feet, he looks like he was born to
be an offensive lineman.
He did think he could be a four-year starter in college. Just not in football.
Basketball was his first love. According to his father, Josh didn’t take football seriously until he was a sophomore in high school.
“Before then, it was video games and basketball,” the elder Jones said.
The move from the court to the football field was an obvious one, as Jones grew bigger and taller.
“He would tell me, ‘Coach, I’m just playing football to stay in shape for basketball,’ ” Jones’ high school basketball coach Ronnie Courtney said. “He was in the gym all year, played the summer circuit … it was all basketball.
“It was just amazing how light on his feet he was. I had to tell him that he was probably going to be a great football player. The more he played and the more success he had, he finally started to see it.”
By the time he was a senior, Jones was a three-star recruit with huge upside, with his lowpost moves giving him a blocking advantage over many pass rushers.
“If he stays injury-free, the sky is the limit for him,” Bobby Jones said. “There is still a lot of untapped potential.”
While Jones isn’t projected to be an early round pick, there will be an NFL opportunity. His play this season will determine his draft positioning.
“He understands the magnitude of which he is playing as the possibility of him playing pro is real,” Courtney said. “I was telling him then that left tackle is where he belongs. He can see it now.”
Protecting the blind side of UH quarterback D’Eriq King will garner Jones, who has 36 starts under his belt, additional NFL attention.
As is the case with the best leaders, the future isn’t his focus.
“That's just extra motivation, but I keep it in the back of my head because right now I just want to win ballgames,” he said. “I just want to be able to win a championship before I leave this place.”