LINCOLN — D.J. Jones waited until the last three games of his junior season to make a start for the Nebraska football team, then moved into the lineup with his ankle hurting.
That did two things for the offensive tackle: Gave him a taste of what it was like and let him know what he was capable of doing when he got a chance.
“After playing those last three games hurt, I knew that I could definitely go out and make a difference this year because I was used to playing through that pain,” Jones said. “If I could fight through that, I could fight through anything.”
Jones a few months later is among the Huskers trying to ride late-season momentum from 2009 into spring practice and beyond.
The Omaha Central graduate concentrated on eating better and working harder through the winter, reshaping his 6-foot-5, 310-pound frame for the better. Others have played sooner in their careers on the NU line, but Jones has found that urgency that comes with realizing that there's only one season left for him.
“He probably really started to progress at the end of last season,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “He got nicked up, unfortunately, and it kind of impeded it, but he came back and had a really good winter. And he's really picked up at that same spot he was at.
“He's starting to get it. He really flashes on film at times for us. He's going to be in that mix for the best five. We'll see what happens.”
Jones played more as a redshirt freshman in 2007 than he did as a sophomore in 2008. After a switch from guard to tackle, he backed up starters Marcel Jones and Mike Smith last season before Marcel Jones went down with an ankle injury in the Kansas State game.
D.J. Jones gutted out every snap at right tackle at Colorado, then recovered some before the Big 12 championship game vs. Texas. Helped by some rest before the Holiday Bowl, Jones and the offensive line clicked in a 33-point, 396-yard performance against Arizona.
“You can never be satisfied, but overall I think I did all right,” Jones said. “Coach (Bo) Pelini doesn't really want us to be satisfied and to want more, be hungry for more, and that's the mind-set I'm trying to have.”
Jones said he wanted to be stronger, faster and in better shape for his senior year. He looked over at NU nutritionist Josh Hingst during an interview Friday and laughed, saying, “I just got that lean muscle mass going for me now.”
Asked what he cut out from his menu, Jones said “all the good stuff.”
“When I went back home over the weekends, I couldn't just eat like my friends were eating up in Omaha,” he said. “I had to eat right.”
D.J. and Marcel Jones, a junior-to-be, will be carrying their battle at right tackle into fall camp. D.J. Jones said they have pushed each other during the first 11 practices this spring, always knowing that if one had a good day, the other needed to come back stronger the next.
All in good spirits and for the benefit of the team, but Jones also knows that this is it for him.
“Right after the bowl game, I just knew that I was about to go into my senior year and I wanted to do a good job,” Jones said. “I wanted to be able to do all I could to help out the team. And so pretty much from there I just been trying to go hard in the weight room, go hard in workouts, conditioning and all that ... just so I'd be able to make a difference for the team next year.”
Contact the writer:
444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
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