Anthony Jones Jr. gave Husker fans a taste of old school Nebraska football last Saturday, and he loved every minute of it.
Jones and Jahsear Whittington, both defensive lineman, action as fullbacks against Ohio. They blocked for freshman running back Jamal Rule on the Huskers’ first touchdown, then blocked once again in the third quarter.
“That’s what you want to see in the Big Ten,” Jones said. “You put some of your big, physical guys on offense and go get short yardage touchdowns or first downs. So it was really cool.”
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said he thought so as well.
“I’ve never seen two kids on defense go in on offense and do that and play with as much intensity and excitement that those two guys did,” Holgorsen said. “That was awesome to see.”
For Jones, it wasn’t his first time playing on offense. He also played tight end at Liberty (Nev.) High School and had more offers to play offensively coming out. Ultimately, he chose to play defense in college, committing to Oregon.
The team began putting Jones in on offense during fall camp and in practice, with it translating to game day against the Bobcats.
“They told us, ‘Just go blow stuff up,’” Jones said. “I learned that you’ve got to control yourself a little bit, because now you’ve got to go block, you can’t just go hit somebody.”
On defense, the fifth-year transfer from Las Vegas recorded three tackles in his Husker debut as Nebraska held Ohio to 303 yards of offense.
The defense got off to a slow start, allowing a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first drive, but Jones said it taught them a lot going forward.
“I think that was a good thing that happened to us, because we were able to see how guys reacted with one another when things didn’t go our way,” Jones said. “Nobody was bickering back and forth, it was honestly a true reset, and just like, ‘OK, that doesn’t mean we’re going to let that type of stuff happen again,’ but we’re not going to let things like that carry over, and effect the rest of the game.”
Nebraska will look to carry its strong finish against Ohio into its game against Bowling Green this Saturday. Jones said he’s enjoyed learning defensive coordinator Rob Aurich’s scheme after spending time in other defenses.
The senior has spent time at Oregon, Indiana, Michigan State and UCLA. He said Nebraska’s the “best,” as far as all he’s learned thus far.
“Just the buy in from everybody in the building, from staff to nutrition to the players, OTAs over the summer, things that we didn’t have to do that weren’t required on the schedule,” Jones said. “The complaining isn’t in this building. The true leadership from guys in the locker room, it’s been great. That’s why I say it’s the best for sure.”
Jones has also done well helping lead the team, as evidenced by his teammates voting for him to wear a single-digit jersey. He’s sporting No. 5 this year and said it means a lot to receive the honor.
“Just being able to have something I get to look back on and say that I was a single digit, part of the Blackshirts at the University of Nebraska, it’s huge,” Jones said. “Being voted by your peers and recognized by your coaches, it’s definitely a big deal to me.”
Jones is also important to the Husker defense. He played 52 snaps on that side of the ball last week and will look to build off of that against Bowling Green.
“He’s just a really diverse and unique player,” Aurich said. “He can do a lot of things. He can cover the pocket, he can rush, he can drop, he’s good at run fits, he’s just good in a lot of situations.”
The Huskers welcome Bowling Green into Memorial stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on FS1 and the Huskers Radio Network.
