Former Georgia defensive standout Jarvis Jones contemplated a future without football while going through a battery of medical tests recently.
Jones even faced the prospect of giving up the game he loves.
“I asked my agent, ‘can you put me in front of a legit doctor, the best spine specialist to diagnosis me,’” Jones said. “If everything went great, fine. But if it didn’t, I was ready for it. This game doesn’t last long. You have to enjoy it while you can. I’m enjoying it, and I love it. I’m passionate about it.”
Jones has a condition called spinal stenosis and has been the most medically scrutinized player heading into the 2013 NFL draft, which will be held April 25-27.
On Thursday, he got a chance to show off his athletic ability. It’s clear that all of the medical attention took away from his time to train.
NFL scouts found out that Jones is not the next Usain Bolt.
He ran a slow 40-yard dash (a best time of 4.85 seconds) and appeared to injure his hamstring as he pulled up short of the finish line on his first of two runs. Three scouts recorded his time at 5.1 seconds, 4.92 and 4.97 on that run. He officially was listed with a 4.92.
Jones had broad jumps of 9 feet, 3 inches and 8 feet, 7 inches. Both would have been near the back of the pack of linebackers at the NFL scouting combine in February.
Jones’ technique in the L-cone drill was a little shaky as he leaped to touch the lines and did not appear very fluid.
But the crowd that included NFL scouts, several general managers and at least three head coaches — Rex Ryan of the Jets, Mike Smith of the Falcons and Mike Tomlin of the Steelers — did not seem dejected by Jones’ workout.
“You can never dispel what you see on tape,” Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie said.
On tape, Jones, a two-time All-American, registered 28 sacks over the past two seasons with the Bulldogs, and he is projected as a top-10 pick. He has visits set with Kansas City, Detroit and Philadelphia. He was not sure if they will require him to work out.
Jones was in good spirits Thursday after his workout, and he clearly wasn’t putting too much stock in his numbers.
“I’m a football player,” Jones said. “You can get somebody from off the street to run a 4.3, but they can’t play football.”
Jones also had a 30 1/2-inch vertical jump and lifted 225 pounds 20 times on the bench press.
With New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan directing him, Jones was at home doing the defensive drills. He moved with ease and hit the dummies with ferocity.
“That’s was fun,” Jones said. “I met with (Ryan) a couple of times at the combine. I met with the Saints yesterday.”
Jones said he noticed a difference in the pro coaching.
“It’s a different coaching style,” Jones said. “It is a lot different than college. It’s a lot more business (like) than in college. There are a lot of second chances in college. If you mess up two or three times, they’ll coach you up and then take it to a whole different level. It was fun being around those coaches and seeing how they coach.”
Jones would like to be the top player taken in the draft.
“At the end of the day, I think I’m the No. 1 player,” Jones said. “That’s my opinion. That’s how I feel.”
Jones played in the 3-4 at Georgia, but some teams project him as a 4-3 outside linebacker.
“For the past two years I’ve been playing 3-4, pass rushing,” Jones said. “I love to pass rush. It’s something that I’m very passionate about, but I think I’m a complete linebacker.”
In the NFL, Jones, despite his pass-rushing prowess, will be required to drop into coverage.
“If I go to a team and my coach wants me to drop, I’m going to do what my coach asks me to do,” Jones said. “I feel like my strength is my pass rushing. I can drop. I really didn’t drop a lot in college, and that is something that I really need to improve on.”
Jones knew the drills did not go too well for him.
“I could have done a whole lot better, especially with my running when I stumbled,” Jones said. “I don’t know what happened with that thing. I could have done better in that. At the end of the day, I enjoyed it, and I had fun.”
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