Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Mark Jones, DB, Western State Colorado University

Every year, NFL Draft Diamonds brings our readers the best in depth interviews on the internet. We specialize in giving players an opportunity to showcase their talents on our website. We conducted interviews last year with over 300 plus players. We want you to enjoy our interviews, because when these young men are in the league, we will not be surprised, and neither should you. 

What is your name?

Mark Jones

What is your Height/Weight?

5’8 170

What is your position?

Corner, Punt Returner, Kick Returner

Where do you play college football?

Western State Colorado University

How many teams were recruiting you out of high school?

When coming out of high school I had a lot of D2 and NAIA’s schools talking to me.

How did you choose your school?

I chose my school based off my head coach Jas Bains he gave me a great vibe on my trip and made me feel really wanted.

Where are you from?

Colorado Springs

Who is your role model, and why?

My role model would have to be my dad. I’ve seen him sacrifice so much through the years to get me where I am today. To see his work ethic everyday makes me want to work even harder to get my dreams.

Have any scouts met with you yet, and if so what are they saying?

No I have not met with any Scouts, hoping that will change.

Did you play any other sports growing up?

Yes, I was baseball, basketball, and track athlete as well. My first love growing up was baseball, but through the years it started fading more to football.

Did you play any other positions in football?

In high school I was strictly offense, I played a couple games of defense but was mostly a offensive threat. Than when I came to college I was switched over to defense.

At your position, what separates you from others?

What separates me from a lot of different players are a couple things one being my technique, I take pride in having a great technique which also helps with my athleticism. Also how aggressive I play, playing this position you have to be aggressive and not afraid to take chances.

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?

When I break down film, I look for every little thing. I look for how they lineup, how close they are to the sideline, how their feet are, if I can pick up any signals, does the wideout play with his gloves when it’s a pass, does he break down or stand up before breaking, how are they with a press corner are they a shaker or do they just release. I look for everything when I watch film, my coach told me that is the best part of my game.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced?

The toughest player I had to play was Torrance Allen who is now with the Chargers. He was big and fast and also very physical with his blocking.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why?

If I could compare myself to any corner it would have to Bradley Roby. He is not the biggest corner but he is very scrappy and aggressive.

What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?

I have been undersize my whole life and a lot of people didn’t want to take a chance on me because of that. So I had to be better in all aspects of the game because I did lack in height and speed.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Before every game I would go on to the field run around and stretch and catch punts and talk with my coach about the different ways I planned to succeed that day. Once I finished with that I would go shower and get dress.

What is your biggest strength?

My biggest strength would be my lateral quickness to get in and out of breaks.

What is your biggest weakness?

My biggest weakness would be my speed and size.

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say?

I would say by picking me up on your team you would never go wrong, more work ethic is good I’m a good leader on and off the field, and I’m here for one reason only and that is to win a championship.

Who was your favorite player and NFL team growing up?

My favorite team was the Detroit Lions, and my favorite player was Deion Saunders

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?

Tupac, Malcom X, Beyonce.