CREATING DRAMA IS BASIC INSTINCT FOR JONES OAKS CHRISTIAN DEFENSIVE BACK IS A FORCE.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer WESTLAKE VILLAGE - It happens on nearly every play. Marshall Jones settles into a half-crouch about 15 yards deep into the defensive backfield, checks the quarterback's eyes, takes a peek at the receiver on his left and points at the slot receiver in the backfield. The offense has yet to snap the ball, but it may as well be over. Jones has already figured out what's coming. Not by picking signs or reading signals coming in from a coach on the sideline. No, this is all instinct. ``Sometimes the quarterback will flick his wrist a certain way, or look at a receiver. Sometimes it's how they line up. If you watch a few plays you can pick it up pretty fast,'' explained Jones, Oaks Christian of Westlake Village's senior safety. And if you're the receiver on a play that Jones ``picks up,'' you had better hope the ball isn't coming to you across the middle. ``Pretty much, if anyone's coming across the middle of the field and Marshall's around, somebody is going to lose a helmet,'' teammate Duke Lemmens said. ``It's like he's playing chess. It's all instinct. ``He just sees something and reacts. And when he does, he's looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. someone to hit on every play.'' Jones doesn't look like your typical big hitter -- he's only 6-feet tall and 180 pounds -- but to a man, every player on the Lions' team (and probably most opponents he's faced) will tell you he is Oaks Christian's most ferocious hitter. And if by chance, a team does complete a deep pass on Oaks Christian, Jones (who has 10.7-second speed in the 100-meter dash) is a good bet to track him down. ``If somebody gets by Marshall,'' Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell Bill Redell (born April 17, 1941 in Red Bluff, California) is an American football coach and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Redell serves as head coach at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California, since 2000, and has formed them into one of said, ``they deserve the touchdown.'' It's this combination of speed, instinct, athleticism and aggressiveness that make Jones the top-rated defensive back in the Daily News coverage area this season. Nationally, most publications rate Jones -- who has verbally committed to USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. -- among the top five safeties in the country. ESPN.com rates him as the No. 9 overall prospect and No. 2 safety. Redell likes to call him ``John Lynch For other persons named John Lynch, see John Lynch (disambiguation). John H. Lynch (born November 25 1952, Waltham, Massachusetts) is the current Governor of New Hampshire. with speed.'' But don't expect to hear much boasting about all this from Jones. On the field, he's quiet and focused. He'll rarely engage in trash talk trash talk n. Disparaging, often insulting or vulgar speech about another person or group. . ``I don't really like talking much,'' he said. ``I talk a lot at school. On the field, though, I'm pretty quiet. I don't really need to talk. I'm focusing on the game.'' He gets that focus, he said, from his father -- also named Marshall Jones -- who played linebacker at Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (while earning degrees in engineering and applied physics) and went on to become a chief information officer for several major companies. ``Marshall's way more athletic than I ever was,'' his father said. ``From the first day I coached him, I knew he had something special. He just has a knack for the game. I just kind of knows what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. .'' Jones grew up as a running back, but had to convert to defense when he came to Oaks Christian and saw future UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX star Aaron Ware and USC-bound tailback Marc Tyler Marc Tyler (born September 27, 1988 in Palmdale, California) is an American football running back for the University of Southern California Trojans football team. High school career Tyler attended Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. in front of him. It didn't take long for Jones to learn to love defense. ``To be honest, I'd rather make a big hit than score a touchdown,'' he said. Considering the way he plays, it's not all that surprising Jones' favorite NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga team is the Chicago Bears. He became a fan while living in Chicago as a kid while his father was earning an MBA MBA abbr. Master of Business Administration Noun 1. MBA - a master's degree in business Master in Business, Master in Business Administration at the University of Chicago. Last year, he even turned in a play that mimicked an NFL-record, 108- yard return of a missed field goal for a touchdown by the the Bears' Nathan Vasher. In the Lions' 58-14 victory over Palmdale last season, Jones picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it 103 yards for a touchdown. Lemmens was left scratching his head after that one. ``When the ball is up in the air, I don't even think he's looking for the pick,'' said Lemmens, who has played with Jones since middle school. ``He's looking for the big hit. There are a lot of times he probably could get the pick, but he goes for the big hit instead.'' ramona.shelburne@dailynews.com (818) 713-3617 CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) JONES (2) ``If somebody gets by Marshall (Jones),'' Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell said, ``they deserve the touchdown.'' Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) AREA'S BEST DEFENSIVE BACKS (2) HONORABLE MENTION |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion