Greetings!
Watching
Monday’s (July 7th) college football championship game, I came away with so much
admiration for Alabama All-American center Barrett
Jones. He played in the BCS Championship game with torn ligaments in his
left foot – injured during the Tide’s SEC title game vs. Georgia a few weeks
back - and wore a protective boot against Notre Dame to help cushion the ankle
and soften the pain tolerance.
Knowing
this and watching the Alabama lineman rise up from his crouch position on every
single offensive play was truly a testament to one’s will that it can do
anything when the mindset officially buys into the mission ahead 100%!
Picture
how many times Jones (who stands in at 6’-5”) had to plant his feet on his
300-pound (plus) body with that much weight and stress hammering down on both
ankles – and then having to use every ounce of inner strength coming off his
ankles to get the utmost leverage over-and-over for 40-50 plays while grappling
like a wrestler with one-to-two bull rushing defensive linemen coming at him
that must equate to 650 pounds of human football flesh and you’re doing this
with TORN LIGAMENTS? Yet, Jones and his O-line teammates put forth one of the
most dominating performances ever seen in a football game and helped their team
cruise to the national championship.
When
I looked into Jones’ background, I was equally stunned to find out about the
sacrifices he made for his college team by switching positions not once but
three different times and how he dominated every single change! He went from
starting 14 games at right guard as a freshman. Moved over to the left tackle
position as a junior only to be chosen the “best offensive lineman” in the
country and a unanimous spot on the All-American team.
As a senior in 2012 – and
this his NFL Draft year – how many players would risk it all by switching to
another new and foreign position? Jones did! He accepted the request from his
coaches to move over to the middle of the line and anchor the center position.
Arguably the hardest position to master on the offensive line. Jones had to
adapt and learn on the go as to how to call out the proper blocking signals for
his O-line teammates. So what happens to Barrett
Jones? He ends up being the most feared and dominant center in the nation
and is chosen #1 at his position again and a spot on the All-American first
team for the second time in two years!
All of these
accomplishments from a player that dominated the classroom academically equally
well! Despite the heavy demands of playing Division I football all four years,
Jones has just about completed his Master’s after earning an undergraduate
degree in accounting while never posting a grade lower than a 4.0!Everyone knows the persona of Alabama coach Nick Saban, who shy’s away completely from offering superlative quotes about his players (so as to keep them on edge). Know that Saban has coached close to a thousand players during his 40-year career out on the football field but had this to say about Barrett Jones:
“He is one of those people that if I start thinking what five players did I ever coach that was as good a person as I’ve ever been around in terms of his actions, how he did things, the example he set, the quality of performance he had, personally, academically, athletically, whatever he chose to do, he would be one of the finest players I ever had the opportunity to coach. Just not very many people like him. He's special,” said Saban. “He has all the right stuff. If we were still trying to get to the moon, Barrett Jones would be my first nomination to be the astronaut to get us there.”
The great poet Edgar A. Guest authored the words below in a poem about courage that rings so true – for you and every athlete no matter the sport - as we close out the today’s story:
… Courage must come from the soul within,
… The man must furnish the will to win.
… So figure it out for yourself, my lad.
… You were born with all that the greats have had,
… With your equipment they all began,
… Get hold of yourself and say: “I can.
My best always!
Jim--------------------------------------------
“Legends are forged when Dreamers shut down the critics and tune out their fears. Pioneers don’t choose the road less traveled, they create a path that’s entirely their own. Legends stand out because they stood up and took the first steps toward their Dreams, no matter what stood in their way” – taken from the December, GQ Magazine
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"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy, and the greatest of all is Confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable" – stated by the legendary Walt Disney
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“The most important part of a player's body is above his shoulders” - stated by baseball legend Ty Cobb
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Jim Loria
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com
