During his career at Swainsboro High, Demello Jones was a jack of all trades. No matter if it was offense or defense, Jones dabbled in positions on both sides.
That's not unusual when you’re the best athlete on your team.
But since coming to Georgia, that’s changed.
Jones is now strictly a cornerback, his freshman season in Athens has been all about focusing on one position and learning all the little nuances it takes to play it successfully on the collegiate level.
That’s where cornerback coach Donte Williams comes in.
“In high school, he was able to do it all, you know, high school needed him to do that,” Williams told UGASports prior to the Sugar Bowl. “Here, he's been able to focus on really just learning how to play DB, you know, from the ground level up. You can see on a daily basis and he's been able to all of a sudden succeed and be able to do all those things we asked. He’s been getting better at them.”
Jones said he likes to believe so.
But not just on the field.
“I feel like I've grown better as a person, on and off the field,” Jones said. “Really, it’s all about communicating more. Coming from a small school, and not like an IMG, here it’s all about communication.”
However, for Williams, it goes deeper than that.
To play cornerback successfully in the SEC, you need a unique mindset.
It takes toughness, aggression, and the ability to move on to the next play when a mistake is made.
“It's a lot easier in high school when you make a mistake, maybe playing DB, that all of a sudden two plays later when you got the ball in your hands and you take a reception for 60 yards,” Wiliams said. “It's a lot different when you play DB and all of a sudden something maybe doesn't go the way you want it to go.
Fortunately, it appears Jones made progress relative to his freshman year.
By the end of the season, Jones had worked his way into the rotation as one of the first corners off the bench behind Daylen Everette and Daniel Harris.
“With Demello, I think it was the biggest thing was the mindset of learning how to play DB as a whole. Like, just making sure you stay positive about the things that you're doing and trust the technique and the scheme of what we ask you to do and just make the plays that come to you,” Williams said. “Don't try to force nothing. Don't try to be out of character. Don't be out here trying new things. Just do the things that we ask of you, and you can see that starting to take precedence right now. You can see just as a whole him starting to get better.”
It helps to have those older teammates to learn from, too.
“They helped keep me prepared, stay focused, and know what to lock in on, what you need to learn,” Jones said. “They made sure I learned the defense.”
Williams said Jones is blossoming in ways not just related to football, too.
“When he first came in, he just kept to himself the whole time. Like, you know, really introverted,” Williams said. “His braids would be in front of his eyes and everything else and you're like, 'Dang, are you even paying attention?’ Right? Now he's a totally different person.”
The once shy player is now one of the more extroverted in the room.
“He’s extremely upbeat, extremely positive. He's become a lot more, I would say, extroverted,” Williams said. "You see it especially among not just the DBs, but the team as a whole because he's comfortable.”
Jones already has an idea of what he wants to show the coaches come spring.
“Primarily just knowing what to do at all times,” Jones said. “I’ll be knowing what other people around me do, so it'll help better my game.”
Williams is confident Jones will do precisely that.
“We’ve got so many guys on our team and coaches from different places and different facets and different mindsets, but here is only one way to do things, and that's the Georgia way, you know, the way we do things,” Williams said. “He’s been able to buy into those things, and you can see the daily growth even as a person, not just a player.”
