21 Players in 21 Days: #7 Jaylon Jones

Jaylon Jones

Position: Cornerback
Classification: Sophomore
Hometown: Cibolo, TX
Listed Height: 6-2
Listed Weight: 205

Key notes from Olin’s analysis of Jones

• Jaylon Jones... That guy could be #1 next year. Two memories. 1. Early in the Alabama game, he gets beat by John Metchie. That happens. He continually got better. Fast forward to the Orange Bowl. Jones is covering a guy going towards the pylon. Sam Howell thinks his tight end is going to be open close to the seam. Jones reads it, comes off his man and makes a diving pass break-up. That's other-worldly. That's elite cornerback coverage. Not covering just your man. That's an example of the progress he made last year from a guy not long out of high school to a guy at the end of his freshman year making elite plays. I think you'll see more of the elite plays than the occasional play where he gets beat like every corner does.

• He could be A&M's top defender next year. He's really, really good. I'll go out on a limb, and he's not there yet, but I've said many times that the best Texas A&M corner I've watched is Aaron Glenn. I think by the end of Jaylon Jones' career we could be saying he's the best corner to play here since Aaron Glenn.

• Jones has all the things you just said. The length and the speed, but he knows how to play football and his position. You see guys who are fast that still get beat. He has all of the physical tools and knows how to play. I've seen guys who were good football players that couldn't go far because they weren't blessed physically. Jones has it all.

• I could feel good about Jaylon Jones in any matchup. I think he'll be a lock-down corner. When Myles Jones said 'Jones Island' it made me think about which Jones he was referring to. It's probably the 'Jones Islands.' These two cornerbacks are playing very well, and I feel very confident in Jaylon.

• When you have better athletes in the secondary than you've had and you combine it with a pass-rush, they become like spiders waiting for a fly to make a mistake. If it's not a pin-point pass - or maybe it is - they can come and claim it. When a quarterback is under duress, then you might see a ball that's off-target or not coming with the velocity he needs, Jaylon Jones is going to be there to pick it off.

Follow the entire 21 players in 21 days series here.