Kyron Jones: From high school running back to starting safety for Georgia
ATHENS — Kyron Jones was never going to have a straightforward path to playing time at the University of Georgia.
Being a high school running back recruited as a defensive back, he understood the challenge when he turned down an offer from the NC State Wolfpack to attend Georgia.
Being from North Carolina made his journey to becoming a starting safety at Georgia all the more meaningful.
“It all just goes back to I love football,” Jones said. “If there’s a way I can play, whether it’s something dealing with an injury and they’re going to let me play, I’m one advocate of playing, because I just love the game and I want to play as much as possible. I mean, really, fire, passion, energy is just really love for the game. If you’ve got love for the game, you know, you’re going to want to play when you’re hurt, even when you don’t feel like it.”
In a day and age where fewer players stick around until their third year, Jones is a bit of a throwback to a time when players would sit and develop. Consider that of the six defensive backs Georgia signed in the 2023 recruiting cycle, only three remain.
Yet all three of them started this past Saturday against Austin Peay. Even with Jones playing through an injury that has a club over his right hand.
“Kyron’s been great. He’s had a good camp,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s been in our system now for I guess three years, and any time you’ve got somebody that’s been in your system for three years, they kind of know the checks and balances and they know how to make calls and how to adjust things and what to expect. He’s physical, he’s a good tackler, and he’s fast. And those three qualities make for good defensive backs.”
Changing positions in college is hardly a new phenomenon. Fellow defensive back Todd Robinson played quarterback at Valdosta High School before being moved to the defensive side of the ball.
There’s a scouting element involved in projecting what Georgia wants. Certain size and speed measurements must be met, along with possessing key intangible traits.
“Toughness would be in there, too,” Smart said. “I think it’s hard to get a kid that plays quarterback and moving to defensive positions if he’s just a quarterback. Todd had some physicality to him. Kyron had physicality to him for being a running back. It’s a requirement that you’ve got to be able to tackle. So, everybody thinks a good athlete quarterback can play anything. It doesn’t always equate if that’s all the kids played growing up. But most of these kids that play quarterback nowadays have played multiple positions growing up.”
It also takes time, something Jones knew when he went into decision-making mode. He couldn’t microwave his way into becoming a high-caliber defensive back.
It helped Jones tremendously that he got to learn the position by playing alongside Tykee Smith, Javon Bullard, Dan Jackson and Malaki Starks.
He never wavered from the idea of playing at Georgia.
“I try not to live my life with regrets, because I feel like that’s not good for anybody,” Jones said. “So once I kind of made a decision, it’s like I knew that was going to be the right decision. And, you know, I’m a firm believer in Jesus Christ. I believe that, you know, God puts you in places where He wants you to be. And I just kind of trusted that. I just knew it was all going to work out at the end. And that’s what I told myself.”
To this point, that decision has worked out for Jones. He’s now a starting member on what could be one of the best defenses in college football.
Jones is a developmental success story for Georgia. It’s something we see less of in college football but Smart and Jones are still committed to it.
“For me, it was just staying focused on what was asked of me and what I needed to do versus looking at all the extra stuff and, you know, all that,” hew said. “So, I mean, just staying focused and just trying to keep the main thing the main thing. That’s what I try to do.”
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
