A few months ago, I wrote this article about GT freshman QB Jay Jones. You should at least skim over it again before reading this article, as this review is built upon that one. In my previous article, I only had access to Jones’ junior film. I was recently contacted on twitter by Jones’ brother, who provided me with his senior film. In this article, I’ll be taking a look at what changed from his junior to his senior season, and what hasn’t.
Jones was still a talented runner in his senior season, displaying the great top end speed I saw as a junior. He’s still making defenders’ angles look foolish. He also filled out his frame quite nicely. The biggest improvements, however, were in the passing game, and there’s much more passing film to dissect in the senior film than there was in the junior film.
- Arm Strength has improved. He can really sling the ball a long way, and a lot of these throws are all arm. No stepping into the throw or follow-through
- Timing has improved. Throwing behind intended targets was a big problem as a junior, but he hits more targets in stride as a senior. He still needs work in this area, but there was progress
- Part of what makes the arms strength so impressive was the fact that he often cut his follow-through short. He could put even more power into many of these throws. Needs to fix his throwing motion, however. Needs to consistently plant his feet, drive the ball, and follow through. If he can do that, he’ll be throwing some sizzling fastballs.
- I’d still like to see more touch passes, and some proof that he can make a larger variety of throws.
The QB competition next year is going to be really interesting. There will be 4 guys with vastly disparate skills competing, some with more experience than the others. Going into a big opener against Tennessee, will Coach Johnson go with one of the more experienced players, or will a young player impress?