For the first time this year, the 2023 rookie class for the Cleveland Browns is in Berea for the rookie minicamp. On Friday several players talked to the media including fourth-round pick Dawand Jones, the offensive tackle from Ohio State. He talked about the rumors surrounding his love for the game and his passion for basketball.
He also talked about the plan Bill Callahan and the team have for him overall this year and beyond. Let’s take a look at some of the quotes from Jones’s availability to kick off the minicamp in Berea and what takeaways you come away from them.
Jones disputes reports about wanting to play basketball
“It was just a crazy tweet. I just had to just take it in. The question was just different during the interviews. I just feel like it just wasn’t the real truth. I’m not going to speak on it, but it just wasn’t right, in my opinion, to just leak something that wasn’t right.”
There were reports after Jones fell to the fourth round that his dream was to play basketball and teams were concerned about it. But clearly, it struck a nerve with Jones who had commented on the rumors saying they were false on social media and again wanted his side to be heard on Friday.
Jones loves football and believes his tape shows that
“I definitely feel like I did that a lot in college, to prove that I love football. I got that question asked in almost every interview—‘do I love football?’ I told almost every team to turn on the tape and you can just see it on my film. I play with that anger and aggression. It just comes from the heart. You just don’t want anyone to touch the quarterback and that’s my main goal.”
You could hear it in his voice that he wanted to make sure his side of the story was told. There is no denying the talent that Jones has on the football field but teams seemed to be concerned about his love for the game. If Jones is telling the truth, and he seems to be, working with coach Bill Callahan can make him an absolute steal in the fourth round.
Jones will be cross trained at both left tackle and right tackle
A bunch of people thought that at the beginning of his career that Jones would be the team’s swing tackle that could play on both sides if injury strikes. Well, we got confirmation of that on Friday when Jones admitted that coach Callahan told him he would be trained for both sides.
This is a big deal for the team if Jones can use his raw talent on either side of the line the depth at the position will look really good. Jones is likely the long-term replacement for Jack Conklin, but if Jedrick Wills isn’t retained and Jones is ready he could slide over there too.
#Browns OT Dawand Jones (No. 74) taking coaching from arguably the best in the biz in Bill Callahan pic.twitter.com/x41Q65OsAL
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) May 12, 2023
He is an incredibly competitive player always looking to get better
“I would just say I’m more so in my head than anything. I’m always trying to be a perfectionist. It’s just something I craft myself on, just not messing up, just relax, take your time. Even today, first day, coach Callahan was like, ‘first day.’ Just knowing myself, I want to get it and be ahead and be more advanced than everybody else. Just playing the game and just being my competitive nature.”
The transition from college to the NFL is really difficult and that fact isn’t lost on Jones who knows he has to take any early mistakes in stride. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is an NFL player coming out of college. If Jones is open to the coaching and criticism to help him get better he will be just fine in the NFL.
He is excited for the next step in his football journey
“It kind of feels like my freshman year over again. You know what I mean? Just the next step is just all football. There’s no school. You go home. You’re going to do football. I love it and I just can’t wait, honestly.”
During this learning phase, Jones doesn’t have the pressure of starting and can take his time to get things right and perfect his game. This is a great situation for Jones to perfect his technique and consistency to develop his great raw natural talent at the position.
