Chuck Smith got to know Patrick Jones II eight months ago.
Smith, an eight-year NFL veteran turned defensive line trainer in Atlanta, is friends with the father of John Morgan, Pitt’s redshirt sophomore pass-rusher. Morgan and Jaylen Twyman trained with Smith prior to the 2019 season, and after picking up a thing or two, Twyman went back down in March with Jones and Deslin Alexandre.
Pitt was three practices in when the school’s spring break interrupted camp. Jones, Twyman and Alexandre, instead of going to Cancun or Cabo, flew down to Atlanta to train. They ended up stuck there longer than intended in the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but for about two weeks, the trio worked with Smith.
And suffice to say, Smith came away impressed with Pitt’s No. 91.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become,” Smith said back in June, before Jones vaulted up college football’s 2020 sack charts. “He has the potential to be one of the top-10 defensive linemen in college football this year, if not in the top five. ... Pat’s going to have a huge year, and he’s going to make a lot of money.”
Not that anyone doubted Jones, who logged 8.5 sacks in 2019 and landed on Mel Kiper Jr.’s top-five defensive linemen list for the upcoming draft. But as Smith alluded to, Pitt’s pass-rusher has taken his game to another level.
Through five weeks, Jones leads all Football Bowl Subdivision players with seven sacks. Pitt leads the country with 25 total, as well, seven more than Duke, the next closest team.
Now, some might dispute the legitimacy of Jones holding the top spot, arguing that any national ranking is hollow at the moment. Two of the Power Five conferences haven’t begun play yet. SEC schools have only three games under their belts. And Miami star Gregory Rousseau, the nation’s returning sack leader, didn’t return, instead opting out of the season.
But none of that can be held against Jones, who skipped the 2020 NFL draft and a second- or third-round grade to improve his stock and win with the Panthers.
He admitted Tuesday that the latter hasn’t necessarily gone to plan. Pitt is unexpectedly 3-2 after dropping its last two games, losing as favorites to N.C. State and Boston College. And against the Wolfpack, Pitt logged only two sacks, its lowest output of the season.
But Jones rebounded at Boston College with three sacks, earning his second ACC defensive lineman of the week award this season. His counterpart, senior Rashad Weaver, also pressured the Eagles’ pocket, at one point mauling Phil Jurkovec and ripping the ball away from him.
Weaver, who’s logged 4.5 sacks in four games after missing the season opener due to COVID-related protocols, has partnered well with Jones — a pairing many hoped to see last season before Weaver tore his ACL in August 2019.
Earlier this season, Weaver had seven tackles and three TFLs against Syracuse, earning Walter Camp national defensive player of the week honors. And he still got his when Pitt harassed Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham, tallying 1.5 sacks. Meanwhile, Jones ripped down Cunningham three times.
“He tends to get in that zone,” Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said of Jones, before addressing the two as a tandem. “Sometimes it’s the offense we face. How much are they willing to throw it? Are they willing to put (Jones) one on one with No. 17 on the other side? With our guys inside doing a good job of pressing the pocket, it gets harder to double team one guy versus the other. Otherwise, they’re getting into two- or three-man routes, which certainly helps our back end.
“There’s no doubt with those guys coming from either side, it really makes it hard for other teams to double team. You can feel it.”
It was suggested on Partridge’s Tuesday conference call that Pitt has its own version of what the Steelers have next door at the teams’ South Side facility. Mike Tomlin’s club is bolstered by one of the best defenses in the NFL. And a lot of that comes down to what T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree have done off the edge, combining for 7.5 sacks.
Partridge smiled when asked about how, relatively speaking, the Jones-Weaver duo might compare. Pitt’s defensive line coach actually had a conversation with Tomlin over Zoom in the early days of quarantining about how the Steelers’ pass-rush is predicated on, first and foremost, getting Watt, Dupree and/or Cam Heyward matched up one-on-one and going from there.
That’s a pretty good place to start, and it’s an approach Pitt has done a pretty good job utilizing when given the opportunity. All but two of Jones and Weaver’s combined 11.5 sacks have come from one-on-one situations.
When Jones likely ends up in the NFL next season, one hulking tackle might enough to slow him down. But that’s not often the case at the college level.
“His speed, his lateral quickness is something he was born with,” Smith said. “Pat can twist, turn. He can change direction. He has great balance. And I tell ya, the one thing he does is translate information fast. When you show him something, you only have to show him once. ... He learns the moves, and he executes them.”
That tracks with Jones’ approach off the field. During his time at Pitt, Twyman gained a reputation for living in the film room. Now, Jones is gaining his own rep — only Jones’ is more about his demeanor while dissecting tape.
Partridge labeled Jones as “extremely serious,” someone more than willing to shut down a joking conversation in meetings if it’s starting to become a distraction. Jones, the son of a former Navy officer, nodded when presented with Partridge’s assessment.
Of course, Jones isn’t a robot. He cracks a laugh here and there and shows quite a bit of emotion on the field. Just take a look after he logs a sack or two. But Jones is a focused, calculated person.
The captain takes on his role “as a job.” He tries to impress his habits on others within the program. He watches Watt’s film incessantly and even sneaks out to the South Side practice field to get a glimpse up-close whenever possible. “We have two of the best pass-rushers in the NFL right now next door,” Jones said with a smile. “Why wouldn’t I try to go watch them?”
Jones is deadset on fine-tuning his moves and reaching his heights as a college pass-rusher. And he hopes that leads to wins at Pitt with six regular-season games to go. But at the very least, it’ll prepare Jones for the day he turns his full attention to the NFL.
“I just try to focus on my craft everyday. When I come here, I don’t take it like a joke,” Jones said. “I think that’s how you should always take the game. Because if you take the game like that, that’s going to help you get a bigger paycheck when it’s time.”
“I really think he’s getting better every week, and I still think there’s room for him to grow,” Partridge added. “I still think his ceiling is higher. And I love how coachable he is, how he really strains to get better. That’s why I still think he’s got a ways to go in terms of what he’s going to be able to accomplish this year.”
John McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9
Do you appreciate good journalism? If you do, consider subscribing.
Support journalism. Subscribe today.
First Published: October 14, 2020, 10:45 a.m.
