After brief setback, FSU DE Marvin Jones Jr. keeps impressing this fall
Since arriving on campus, there has been nothing but praise from the Florida State coaching staff for Marvin Jones Jr.
The FSU legacy and Georgia defensive end transfer hit the ground running in Tour of Duty, stood out in spring camp and excelled during the Seminoles' summer program.
That makes what happened to him the night before FSU's preseason camp began July 24 that much more unfortunate.
"He's been limited here the first week and a half (of preseason)," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said of Jones after Thursday's practice. "The night before we started camp, he had a slight rolling of the ankle doing a little bit of extra work."
Because of this minor injury, Jones spent the first portion of FSU's preseason camp watching from the sidelines and unable to participate. After gradually progressing back, though, Jones has returned to practice this week with an intense energy determined to make up for lost time.
In four practices this week, the former five-star recruit has certainly looked the part, showing off the strength and speed combination in his remarkable 6-foot-5, 255-pound frame that made him a coveted recruit both out of high school and the transfer portal when he left UGA in December after two seasons with the program.
Manage privacy settings
First-time subscriber special: One year of the Osceola for 70 percent off
"He had a special summer..." Norvell said. "Obviously getting him back to full speed, getting him to participate here this week was big. I think you feel his presence. The details, the discipline, he's got all the physical abilities and tools. Getting him out there has been good. Seeing him push to go get better, I've been very pleased with what I've seen from him this week."
Added Jones, "I just know I've gotten better every day since I've been here."
Fittingly for him, one of Jones' first practices back in action Wednesday morning was held inside the Jacksonville Jaguar's flex indoor facility due to rain affecting the field at the University of North Florida where the team is staying in dorms.
Jones was born right around the time his legendary FSU linebacker father Marvin Jones Sr.'s decade-long NFL career came to an end in 2003. He saw from afar how FSU took a few defensive end transfers in Jermaine Johnson and Jared Verse and transformed them into first-round NFL Draft picks.
That was surely a major selling point for Jones out of the portal in addition to the long-term relationships he had previously built with the FSU coaching staff. With his first season at FSU mere weeks away where Patrick Payton and he could emerge as one of the better defensive end duos in the country, the setting for this practice certainly provided inspiration to the FSU legacy.
"I would say it's definitely motivation," Jones said of practicing at the Jags facility. "It's definitely somewhere I want to be very soon."
Manage privacy settings
Follow The Osceola on Facebook
Follow The Osceola on Twitter
Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple