Patrick Jones’ decision to leave Pitt was a no-brainer. The star defensive end almost left after last season, opting to return and improve his Day 2 draft stock. Now, this year’s ACC sacks leader will be a potential first-rounder come April.
Still, Jones drove away from Pittsburgh on Saturday morning with a “bittersweet” taste in his mouth.
“It’s a great feeling to move on to the next part of my life. But I’m also going to miss everyone from Pitt every day,” Jones told the Post-Gazette on the road home to Chesapeake, Va. “It is a great feeling, though, starting this new chapter of my life. My next step is getting to work.”
Jones has a lot to prepare for. The Bednarik Award semifinalist declared for the 2021 NFL draft last Friday, and now he will have to get ready for the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in late February.
As of now, Jones is still in the process of identifying an agent. He’s also unsure if he’ll go away to train for the combine. For the time being, he’ll be home in the Virginia Beach area working out with trainer Anthony Stringfield, who prepared former first-round Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel, among others, for the NFL.
Regardless of where he trains and whom he signs with, Jones’ body of work ought to be enough to garner consideration from teams in the top 32 picks.
Forever grateful ???????? #H2P #QBK #91out✌???? pic.twitter.com/oxn5QQnkf6
— Patrick Jones II (@P_jones9) December 11, 2020
Jones was a second-team All-ACC honoree in 2019, contributing 43 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 8 1/2 sacks and a conference-high four forced fumbles. And this year, he was one half of the best defensive end duo in the country. Rushing opposite Rashad Weaver, maybe a first-rounder himself, Jones finished Pitt’s 11-game season with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss, ranking second and 16th in the country, respectively.
Jones’ production and tape have attracted interest from NFL draft analysts. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound pass rusher is CBS Sports’ No. 25 overall prospect. He’s ranked No. 46 overall by ESPN’s Todd McShay. Meanwhile, Mel Kiper Jr., has Jones pegged as the fourth-best defensive end in this stacked class.
“And I think I’m more versatile than a lot of people may give me credit for,” Jones said. “If you turn on the 2018 film, I played inside and played nose guard on third down in (Pitt’s passing down) delta package. I can stand up and play linebacker. I can play D-end with my hand in the dirt. I can do a lot more than what people already know.”
Jones, who deserves a lot of credit for his own development, also recognized the role played by Charlie Partridge, “the best D-line coach in the country.”
Partridge oversaw Jones’ growth from two-star recruit to NFL prospect. The man who mentored J.J. Watt at Wisconsin passed along everything he knew to Jones, who’s known as one of the program’s more insatiable film junkies. Jones’ father, Patrick, said his son’s work ethic is “out of control,” a personality trait that clicked with Partridge from the jump. And when Jones started receiving pats on the back by way of ACC and national honors, it was Partridge who kept him grounded.
Learning more from Partridge is one of many reasons why Jones doesn’t regret returning to Pitt for the 2020 season. The team’s disappointing 6-5 record is far from what Jones, Weaver, Damar Hamlin and the rest of Pitt’s NFL talent envisioned in the summer. But Jones takes a lot of pride in not only improving his stock, but also persevering through the pandemic, both individually and as a program.
“I don't think people realize how much of a sacrifice it is being away from your family during a time like this,” Jones said. “You don't know what's going on. You don't get to see them. And at the same time, you've got to wake up at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning to practice and be 100%.”
“This season was abnormal,” Jones continued. “The hardest part of the season was knowing you were practicing all week with the chance that the game would be taken away from you on the last day, kind of like what happened with Georgia Tech. There was a lot of mental stress on people. It really taught you to stay where your feet are.”
For the last five years, both of Jones’ feet were in Pittsburgh.
It stayed that way until the end, as Jones chose to play in Pitt’s regular season finale at Georgia Tech. He understands why Weaver and Hamlin didn’t play in the rescheduled game, sticking to their previously planned pre-draft process. He supported them after Pitt’s 34-20 win and did so again over the weekend. But finishing the year out with teammates was important to him and his family.
Jones wore the Pitt uniform one final time — racking up a team-high seven tackles — with his sister and cousin in the stands. His parents last saw him on Senior Day, a 33-point win over ACC Coastal rival Virginia Tech on Nov. 21.
Jones said the memory that sticks with him from that day was Pitt’s postgame locker room. For his parents, it was seeing Jones jog out of the Heinz Field tunnel once more — an emotional moment as their son closed one chapter and opened another.
“Nobody saw him getting up in high school at 5 o’clock in the morning, riding his bike to the gym to get a workout in before he went to school. Nobody saw him do the extra training after football practice at night. No one saw the hard work he put in,” his mother, Angela, said. “He kept pushing, and we saw it pay off. We’re just extremely proud of him. And we know he’s going to keep working hard because it doesn’t stop here.”
“It’s exciting and refreshing just to know I have a new start coming in life,” Jones added. “Everything I worked for in my life, I have the opportunity to go get it.”
John McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9
First Published: December 14, 2020, 5:19 p.m.
