Anthony Jones Jr. got his Nebraska debut in the kind of way old-school Husker fans can appreciate: physical, versatile and a little bit unexpected.
Last Saturday against Ohio, Jones and fellow defensive lineman Jahsear Whittington lined up as fullbacks and helped pave the way for freshman running back Jamal Rule on Nebraska’s first touchdown. They did it again in the third quarter, giving the Huskers a dose of bruising football on offense while still handling their regular work on defense.
“That’s what you want to see in the Big Ten,” Jones said. “You put some of your big, physical guys on offense and go get short yardage touchdowns or first downs. So it was really cool.”
Dana Holgorsen liked it too.
“I’ve never seen two kids on defense go in on offense and do that and play with as much intensity and excitement that those two guys did,” Holgorsen said. “That was awesome to see.”
For Jones, the moment carried a little extra meaning because he’d done this before. He played tight end at Liberty (Nev.)
High School and had more offensive offers coming out, but he chose defense in college and originally committed to Oregon. Nebraska started working him in on offense during fall camp and in practice, and that preparation carried over to game day.
“They told us, ‘Just go blow stuff up,’” Jones said. “I learned that you’ve got to control yourself a little bit, because now you’ve got to go block, you can’t just go hit somebody.”
Jones still made his biggest impact on the defensive side, where the fifth-year transfer from Las Vegas posted three tackles in Nebraska’s 17-0 win over Ohio. The Huskers gave up a 68-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive, but Jones said the way the group responded told him plenty about the defense.
“I think that was a good thing that happened to us, because we were able to see how guys reacted with one another when things didn’t go our way,” Jones said. “Nobody was bickering back and forth, it was honestly a true reset, and just like, ‘OK, that doesn’t mean we’re going to let that type of stuff happen again,’ but we’re not going to let things like that carry over, and effect the rest of the game.”
Now Nebraska turns to Bowling Green on Saturday, and Jones said he’s already enjoyed getting familiar with defensive coordinator Rob Aurich’s system after playing in several others. The senior has been through Oregon, Indiana, Michigan State and UCLA, and he said Nebraska stands out above the rest.
“Just the buy in from everybody in the building, from staff to nutrition to the players, OTAs over the summer, things that we didn’t have to do that weren’t required on the schedule,” Jones said. “The complaining isn’t in this building.
The true leadership from guys in the locker room, it’s been great. That’s why I say it’s the best for sure.”
That buy-in showed up in another way too. Jones earned a single-digit jersey, wearing No. 5 this season, and he said the recognition hit home.
“Just being able to have something I get to look back on and say that I was a single digit, part of the Blackshirts at the University of Nebraska, it’s huge,” Jones said. “Being voted by your peers and recognized by your coaches, it’s definitely a big deal to me.”
Aurich said Jones has already become a valuable piece of the defense, which showed in his 52 snaps last week.
“He’s just a really diverse and unique player,” Aurich said. “He can do a lot of things. He can cover the pocket, he can rush, he can drop, he’s good at run fits, he’s just good in a lot of situations.”
Nebraska hosts Bowling Green at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on FS1 and the Huskers Radio Network.
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Matt Rhule and Dana Holgorsen both offered praise for the way those players have shown up, underscoring the mix of mindset, physicality and impact that can separate a good contributor from the guy everyone else is chasing. The larger question for Nebraska fans is the one that never really goes away after an eye-opening opener: who is actually the best football player on this roster, and who is becoming indispensable as the season takes shape? [Read more 🡒]