The Senior Bowl has served as a vehicle for small-school players to prove themselves to NFL teams. One of the biggest benefactors of that opportunity this year was Southern Utah offensive tackle Braxton Jones.
A two-time first-team All-Big Sky offensive lineman, Jones had long solidified himself as one of the best players in the FCS. With performances against FBS teams in 2021 and his Senior Bowl outing, he showed that he can not only dominate at the FCS level, but that he can also excel against an uptick in competition.
Jones projects as one of the most athletic offensive tackles in the 2022 NFL draft, and with his upside at the next level, teams will surely be lining up to take a shot on him.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Jones about the highlights of his collegiate career, practicing at Exos over the offseason, his Senior Bowl experience, and much more.
JI: You dealt with a lot this year, from playing two seasons in a year to being a first-team All-Big Sky, from going 1-10 to killing it at the NFL Scouting Combine. Amidst the ups and downs, how have you managed to stay focused and grounded?
BJ: The biggest thing for me is just being grateful, and with the gratefulness, I think comes happiness. Within Southern Utah, and us having some rough seasons, that can’t define you as a person. One of my goals was to go out there and try and win as many games as we could, but that didn’t go the way the team wanted it. But, I’m just grateful to be in this position, and to have these great opportunities, to even play Division I football and to go to the Combine was a great milestone in my life. It’s just so surreal to me, even to this day. I just say the biggest thing is being grateful, and being humble in the process, as well.
JI: You’re obviously athletic on tape, but going to the combine and putting up the numbers you did, what did that mean to you?
BJ: Yeah, for sure. For the pre-draft process, and combine prep and all the training I put in, I’ll just say shout out to my coaches at Exos, with coach Nick [Stodolski] and then coach [Jonathan] Barlow, as well. Two great individuals, and they really believed in me and in the things I could accomplish at the combine. I came in every day ready to work, and they coach me well, so I just say thanks to them, honestly. All of that stuff is a lot of technique and a lot of details you got to take in, and I was willing to do that, and they’re willing to coach me, so I’m very grateful for that.
JI: A lot of the top prospects practice at Exos. How has it helped you to be working with some of the best in the business?
BJ: It was fun, honestly. It’s just like college football on the daily, honestly. You’re just with a bunch of guys that have a whole bunch of funny stories and stuff like that. You’d be around guys like Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis, Cade Mays; some of those guys that are just hilarious and fun to be around. It was great, meeting new friends and guys that might play a little higher level football than I did. But, we’re all coming together to play the same football at the end of the day, so it was just great being around those guys, and it was a great environment.
JI: You had the chance to go down to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. How was that experience?
BJ: It was very eye-opening. You’re going up against great athletes every day, and you have to sustain that greatness, as well, every play in and play out, it was a good environment for me. I liked it, and I felt like, the longer I could be in that environment with great players – and that’s how it’s going to be in the NFL – I’ll just continue to strive for grit and strive for greatness and everything like that. It’s great for me, and it’s stepping stone for me to be like, “You belong here.” I knew I belonged there, but some people say, “You didn’t play FBS ball or anything like that, so let’s see you do it.” It’s just to show them that.
JI: Do you feel like going against teams like Arizona State and San Jose State early in the year helped prepare you for going against FBS and Power 5 talent at the Senior Bowl?
BJ: Yeah, I would say it was just just reaching the surface of some of those guys and how athletic they are. It was great competition, those first two games in the season, but I mean, it even got better, so just continuing to perfect your craft and find your weaknesses and perfect those weaknesses, as well. It’s just an ongoing process; you’re always going to find somebody that’s better than the next, so it’s just fun to be able to go through that process and get better every day.
JI: What was it like to be able to interact with all of those coaches and scouts from NFL teams?
BJ: I loved those meetings. In the Senior Bowl, we met with just about every team, 32 teams. You got to keep up your energy and always have a great attitude, and I had fun with it. It was very fun to me, being able to talk to different people, seeing how different people are, and different coaches, scouts and stuff like that. It was a great opportunity. I love talking about football or talking about life. It was just a beautiful opportunity. I was glad to be there.
JI: Which offensive linemen have you grown up idolizing?
BJ: So growing up, I mean, more in high school, I would say I’ve started watching a lot more NFL, obviously, just getting more and more serious about the game. But I was always a huge Tyron Smith fan from the Cowboys. The man is a freak of nature. He’s very technical, and he has strong hands, long arms. He’s just built like he came out of a [lab], like he’s a robot. I’ve always tried to emulate him and watch the stuff he’s doing, watch his highlights. It’s always been cool watching him the last 10 years of my life.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
BJ: Yeah, that’s a big thing, for sure, is being able to debrief sometimes. I know these days can get long, or if you’re doing two days, or what type of working out you’re doing. But they can get long, but if I have a lot of time, I like to go outside. I’m a big water guy, so if I can get next to the water…the ocean is super fun to me. If I don’t have enough time, just relaxing, [I] might play a few video games or play little cards, anything like that.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
BJ: The biggest thing, I think, is just a coachable guy. I’m athletic, agile; I think I can move very well. You can see my speed through whatever the 40 is or just being able to move in space. But with all that, a lot of guys, I feel like in the league, can get this thing…maybe they’re highly drafted or they’re being paid a lot of money, and they’ve become not coachable. That’s something that I’ve always been. When I was an upperclassman at Southern Utah, just being able to be coachable, and then hear what the coach is saying, even though you might have a different thought of what you think you should be doing, but hear that, being able to communicate with the coach, and so I think I have so much growth within that. Then obviously, within my technique as well, there’s just so much growth with that, but being coachable is just going to help everything else.
