Taiwan Jones Scouting Report
Jan 17, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; East running back Terrence Magee (15), of LSU, runs with the ball as West linebacker Taiwan Jones (34), of Michigan State, defends during the first quarter at the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field . Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Bottom Line
During Shrine Game Week, Jones created a buzz by confirming his physicality and showing his athleticism. The scouting world should have known because he was a high school running back, averaging 10 yards per carry while getting over 800 yards. Then when he gets to Michigan State, he starts at Star linebacker, a 4-3 outside linebacker with lots of coverage responsibility.
Jones told the Detroit Free Press of his Shrine Week, “I feel like last week helped me out a lot. I had a good week out there, showed some good things to the scouts, proved a lot of things they said I couldn’t do. I think I made them think otherwise, showed that I can be an every-down linebacker, not just a two-down linebacker. I think a lot of times, people forget what I did my whole career—they remember what you did last.
Two of his three years starting in college, he was an outside linebacker in a 4-3 with mainly coverage responsibility. But since he’s so physical, he translates to an inside linebacker position in the NFL. And let’s not forget that he led a defense the led the country in run defense this year and held mercurial running back Ameer Abdulla to 45 yards rushing on 24 carries.
But the Brandon Spikes comparisons the scouting world had for him are ridiculous because he’s athletic, not just a hitter.
A solid 40-time and 3-cone drill will show who he really is.
Where will he go then?