ATHENS — Around Georgia and the Southeast and even in Idaho, to some extent, whether Jarvis Jones would be eligible for the Bulldogs’ season opener was a burning question on the minds of many.
But inside Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, it barely was a concern. Some players, as it turns out, didn’t even know there was an issue.
“I really didn’t know he was in trouble for anything,” junior defensive end Abry Jones said after Wednesday’s scrimmage at Sanford Stadium. “This is the first time I’m hearing about it. If I had heard it, I think I would have been a little upset. Seeing that we kind of dodged a missile or whatnot, it’s a real calming thing ... because taking Jarvis out would be taking out a real big piece of our defense.”
If Georgia players weren’t perusing the Internet or monitoring Twitter, they would not have heard it from Jarvis Jones himself. Speaking for the first time since his eligibility became the subject of NCAA review, Jones said Wednesday he never once doubted he would be able to play against Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game Sept. 3, or any other game, for that matter.
“It never bothered me. I never stressed about it, not one day,” said Jones, a 6-foot-3, 241-pound sophomore from Columbus and the Bulldogs’ starter at strongside outside linebacker. “I knew I didn’t do anything. I knew the situation was good from the get-go. It was just some business some people had to investigate, and [it was] handled it real well. Now that it’s over, and we can get back to preparing the best we can.”
Maybe Jones wasn’t too concerned, but the Bulldogs’ coaches and the UGA compliance office certainly stressed about it. Georgia spent more than $25,000 in hiring the NCAA legal expert Mike Glazier from the Kansas law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King to lead its investigation.
Glazier is a former NCAA investigator who has been called “The Fixer” and “The Cleaner” for his unique ability to handle NCAA infractions matters in a swift and effective manner. The Bulldogs have been working with Glazier since March on this and other NCAA matters.
UGA’s defense was that Jones had a family-based relationship with the man accused of providing him benefits that predated Jones’ status as a college prospect. The NCAA determined Jones met its four-pronged test for that distinction and ruled in Jones’ favor after receiving UGA’s report.
“If you read the reports, it tells you that the people that were involved have been in my life since a young age, 11 or 12,” Jones said. “It’s been quite a while. Those people still mentor me. I still talk to them, and they’re still my family.”
By all accounts, Georgia’s going to be in much better shape for that first game now that it's assured that Jones will be part of the team. He had three sacks Wednesday in the Bulldogs’ first preseason scrimmage.
“He’s going to be a household name before the year’s over,” senior tight end Aron White said. “He’s a guy who, when he turns it on, it’s on. I’ve been rocked by him a couple of times. I took a tremendous hit from him this preseason. As long as he stays healthy, I think he’s going to be a guy that will make a lot of plays for us this year.”
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