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  • Minnesota State senior safety Troy Jones (11) is congratulated by teammate Jesse Okoi after the Mavericks’ 7-6 victory over Northern Michigan at Blakeslee Stadium on Thursday. Pat Christman

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September 5, 2010

Jones is Minnesota Sate’s equivalent of Jekyll & Hyde

Soft-spoken senior a violent force on the football field

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Midway through the second quarter, Troy Jones was attempting to return a punt, but as soon as he caught the football, he was leveled by a Northern Michigan player.

It was a shot that not every player walks away from.

In the final minute of the game, as Northern Michigan was driving for a possible game-tying touchdown, the quarterback lofted a pass along the sideline. The receiver and cornerback jumped high near the goal line, and it looked like one of them would make the catch, but Jones came sailing from the middle of the field and hammered the receiver, who stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes, wondering who or what hit him.

Football is a violent game, and Jones, a senior safety, is an aggressive tackler, which should serve him well as he studies for his degree in law enforcement. But after you talk with him for a few minutes, you wonder how such a soft-spoken, respectful person could generate that much passion for destroying an opposing player.

“I hear that a lot,” Jones said. “You have to be a different person on the field. You have to have that killer instinct and try to bully the other guy. Off the field, I talk a lot, but I’m not a rah-rah guy.”

Jones was the Mavericks’ leading tackler in Thursday’s 7-6 victory over Northern Michigan at Blakeslee Stadium. He played safety, and he returned and covered punts. His seven tackles were the most on the team, but that doesn’t fully quantify his impact on what should be a very good defense.

“He’s on the field a lot,” coach Todd Hoffner. “He’s one of our best players, and we try to get as many snaps out of him as we can get.”

Jones, who played high-school ball at Park Center, came to Minnesota State in 2009 after two seasons at Harper College in Illinois. Last season, he played in all 12 games, gradually making more of an impact as the season developed. He finished with 38 tackles and made six interceptions.

“He had a phenomenal spring, and he’s played even better this fall,” Hoffner said. “He was good, and he’s gotten great. He’s always a guy in practice making big hits.

“He has a great demeanor. He’s calm and very relaxed. Sometimes, great gentlemen turn into very physical players on the field, and we appreciate our people being good people.”

Jones’ impact was already evident in the first game, with the confidence of being in the Mavericks’ system for a second season. He made a half-sack and that violent pass breakup in the end zone.

He’ll continue to return punts and play on special teams, and he may start returning kickoffs. He hasn’t been an offensive player since high school so he likes having the ball in his hands, though he’d rather not take a big hit like he did when fielding that punt.

“It was kind of weird because I’ve never really taken a hit like that,” Jones said. “I popped right back up. It hurt a little, but I can’t let them see that.”

As for the hit he put on the Northern Michigan receiver in the end zone late in the game, “I don’t want to see anyone get injured, but we all get pumped up when you see someone get hit like that.”

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