He laughs in interviews, but Mac Jones is all business.
Along with his decision to pursue graduate school at the University of Alabama, the redshirt sophomore wants to finish the season with a Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan.
He was one of two student-athletes that spoke with reporters on Thursday and he talked about how important this game is — despite the Crimson Tide not being in the College Football Playoff.
“The biggest thing around here is finish,” Jones said. “Whether it’s one drill, one play or one game. We did not finish the way we wanted to this year, but we still have one game left and we are really excited to show people that we can finish.”
In terms of the focus for this team, Jones provided an example of how everyone is locked in.
“Two practices ago, the defense destroyed us on offense,” Jones said. “Those guys were getting after us every play and that was two practices ago. They still did great yesterday, but I was like ‘these guys are really practicing hard’ and we ended up doing fine but you could see that those guys were playing hard. It was a normal practice for them and you could feel it.”
While it’s a back and forth battle on offense and defense, Jones tends to save his best gems for conversations with his head coach. As much as Nick Saban hates losing, Jones carries the trait much stronger. Every team he has played on since childhood has been victorious — including his 2016 Class 4A State Championship squad at The Bolles School.
The native Floridian loves to bring a little smack talk to each practice and he said it livens the mood.
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“I don’t like to lose,” Jones said. “It hurts me. You can look at statistics all day, but the one that matters is winning. That is just big for me and it has been my whole life. There have been plenty of times where me and Coach Saban have talked some smack together. It’s friendly smack, but whether you are on the scout team or a starter… you want to have fun and compete.”
Jones will make his third career start versus the Wolverines on New Year’s Day.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
