Aggie Flashback with Byron Jones

Notes from Byron Jones interview

* He’s back in College Station to go back to school and finish his degree. When he left, he was a few hours short, but is finishing up his last seven hours this semester and should be graduating in December.

* He’s trying to get into the coaching world after school is done, but for now, he is focusing on a sports training company that he started with a former teammate. He hopes to be able to give kids some knowledge about the game of football as a way of giving back to the people and helping the community.

* The game that sticks out the most during his time at A&M has to be the GalleryFurniture.com bowl in which he was named MVP. He came down with three interceptions during that game and it’s definitely one of the best he has ever played. He was just happy to be playing as a freshman and was able to make the plays when they came his way. A lot of crazy things happened in his life after that game, and he is thankful every day that he was able to perform the way he did on that day.

* Not too long after that game, his brother committed suicide. Their mother passed away when the two of them were teenagers, and while he was able to shield himself with being a part of the A&M football team, his brother didn’t have any such outlet. Going through the loss of his brother made him a stronger person and gave him the knowledge that it is important to reach out to others in need.

* He was fortunate to have a group of guys that were able to get him through that rough time in his life. All of his teammates were there to support him, as well as the coaches and the entire Aggie family. He will always be in debt to Aggieland for supporting him when that situation happened.

* Ever since he stopped playing football, he’s been working with troubled kids in many different places. By doing so, he was able to see another side of being a kid and what some children have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. His message to the kids is always to stay positive and do what you can do to make yourself a better person in all walks of life.

* While at A&M, he took pride in breaking up passes and making a play on the football as a defender. He’s grateful to be amongst great company like Kevin Smith near the top of the record books in the pass breakups category.

* As a young player, you have to learn that the first thing you have to be able to do is tackle. He knows that the current stable of A&M defensive backs is working hard at getting better at tackling, but they are a young group right now and with youth comes need for development. If your corners are able to tackle, it makes everything easier for everyone else. Always going for the kill-shot when tackling will lead to missed tackles. He was never worried about getting run over by the other team, as long as the guy went down to the ground with him.

* When he was playing, Kevin Sumlin was the offensive coordinator at A&M and was someone who was always intense and loved his receivers. Sumlin always respected his game and he expects him to do a good job as A&M’s head coach. He had a chance to be around the University of Houston program while Sumlin was coaching there and he never heard anything bad about him from anyone.

* Larry Jackson brings a lot of knowledge to the A&M program. He feels that Jackson is going to do a great job while at A&M and the guys on the team are going to benefit a lot by having him on their side.

* He was out at practice recently and the culture around the team is something he would have loved to be a part of while at A&M. The coaches are serious, but at the same time, they allow their players to have fun during practice.