JACKSONVILLE – The emotion was real and raw.
If Jarrian Jones showed that emotion in a very public and much-viewed fashion, the Jaguars' rookie didn't mind. The day was special, a dream come true. At long last.
"The moment was big," Jones said.
Jones, a cornerback from Florida State University selected by the Jaguars in Round 3 of last month's 2024 NFL Draft, spoke to senior writer John Oehser for this week's 2024 offseason O-Zone podcast. He discussed multiple topics, including growing up a Jaguars – and Maurice Jones-Drew – fan and how he learned to overcome adversity in college.
"I'm built Ford tough, you know?" he said. "I went through all the all the bad stuff, the highs, the lows, the in betweens, and I stood the test. I stood up in it and became a man, so I definitely felt like this was the time for me to go."
Jones not only played through the COVID-19 pandemic during that time, he transferred to FSU from Mississippi State after his first collegiate season. He also played through multiple injuries, moving to nickel back from outside corner before the 2023 season.
"Coming into college, especially coming into Florida State, I had my mindset of what it was supposed to look like, and I wanted everything to be perfect," he said. "But through my time at Florida State, I learned that you're going to through some things.
"Anything worth having is hard to obtain. It's not always going to be perfect, but you have make that decision to just wake up and go chase it everyday."
He added, "I was a big perfectionist. But you go through your growth process and you start to understand everything is not going to go exactly how you envision it. You have to learn to battle it and fight through all the adversity and come through it."
Also among the topics: The moment when shortly after his selection when he spoke by telephone to Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke. Jones was notably emotional during the call, which was widely seen on Jaguars Media channels.
"When you get drafted, you get a flashback of all the tough moments, the rough moments it took to get here," he said. "I fell in love with the process of being great, all the hard moments, all the tough moments, all the highs, the lows, all the in between. Just being able to further my career and being able to do it at the highest stage against the best, that was a blessing and so I'm ready for it.
"It's just super for me because I was being able to stay in Florida and play for the Jaguars."
To listen to the entire O-Zone Podcast with Jones, please click HERE.
