Recent shoulder surgery will keep rising sophomore Marvin Jones Jr. off the practice field this spring, but Georgia fans should not necessarily be that concerned.
Jones is expected to make a complete recovery and should be completely ready for the start of fall camp, although missing out on the work he would have received in the spring is obviously not ideal.
Nevertheless, position coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe saw enough of Jones and Georgia’s other freshman outside backers, Darris Smith and C.J. Madden, to know he has some good ones with a bright future.
“Between Marvin, Darris, and CJ, those are three guys who are young, who are uber-talented, but you also love the work ethic they have,” Uzo-Diribe said. “They come to work every day, try to work on their craft, and get themselves ready to the point where their numbers are called as well. The want-to that those guys have, too, to be successful, to be the kind of football players that they want to be.”
Jones talked about his rookie season prior to Georgia’s victory over TCU in the National Championship.
“It’s been a journey,” Jones said. “It’s definitely been fun but a lot of learning along the way. It’s definitely different from high school.”
With the exception of his work on special teams, Jones did not see much action on defense early during the Bulldogs’ 2022 campaign.
But following the season-ending pec injury to Nolan Smith, Jones began to see those coveted opportunities, and when he did, made the most of them.
Jones capped the regular season with his first career sack, and following more injuries at the outside backer position, was forced into action late in the contest in the semifinals against Ohio State. He was on the field when the Bulldogs stopped the Buckeyes on third down, leading to the missed field goal attempt that ultimately sent Georgia to Los Angeles and the national championship.
“He’s a really good athlete. He’s gotten so much better,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “I don’t think even he knew what he was getting into in terms of contact, physicality, big-boy ball. He’s been down with the scouts. He’s been with us. He closes on counters. He understands football. He’s got really good instincts. Marvin has been great; he’s really improved his toughness.”
Jones, who plays both standing up and with his hand in the dirt, admits there have been plenty of lessons to learn.
“I’d say the biggest difference is always the physicality, especially at somewhere like Georgia,” he said. “That’s probably been the biggest thing I’ve had to learn.”
Being able to close on counters is one of the areas Jones believes he improved the most, thanks to lessons he learned working under the tutelage of players like former teammates Nolan Smith and Robert Beal.
“They really helped me with the mental aspect,” Jones said. “They taught me how to work, how to think, which you need to go along with being physical and stuff like that.”
