NASHVILLE – Back in 1999 when Jim Washburn was hired as defensive line coach, one of his primary objectives was to make sure his players moved.
In particular, then-head coach Jeff Fisher wanted to make sure his defensive ends and tackles ran to the ball, regardless of whether the player who had it was in front of or behind them or to either side. Those efforts produced immediate results – nothing was more memorable than when rookie Jevon Kearse chased down speedy Baltimore receiver Qadry Ismail from behind – and continued to have an effect during the 12 years Washburn had the job.
Jim Washburn would have loved Naquan Jones.
“The one thing about Naquan is he hustles to the ball,” current Titans defensive line coach Terrell Williams said. “You can’t always coach that.
“… You tell them all that, but some guys take heed to it and some guys don’t. He’s one of the guys that’s kind of really bought into it. “
Jones’ aversion to staying in one place is not limited to where he is on the football field.
Undrafted last season out of Michigan State, the 6-foot-3, 313-pound nose tackle was not content to languish on the lower levels of the depth chart. He started the regular season on the practice squad, got signed to the active roster in Week 3, made his NFL debut a week after that and started for the first time in early November. When all was said and done, he had appeared in 13 games as a rookie with five starts and was credited with 29 tackles, two and a half sacks and four tackles for loss.
Among the team’s defensive linemen, only Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry appeared in more games, and those two plus Teair Tart logged more snaps on defense than Jones did.
He might have done even more had he been able to go a little faster right from the start.
“I was huge in overthinking, and I see it now with some of the younger guys,” Jones said. “They’re not playing as fast as they can just because they’re overthinking a little bit and they’re overwhelmed.
“The more reps you get and the more you step on the field and get to work on what you need to work on, you get a little more comfortable with that. … I just feel a little more comfortable having a year under my belt.”
In other words, he had to walk before he could run.
As he looks to his second season as a professional, he believes there is nothing holding him back when it comes to keeping up with the others on the defensive front.
“I feel like I always play with high effort, and I’m always going to play hard, especially playing next to (Simmons), playing next to Tart,” Jones said.
He also has proved that he is a quick study when it comes to some of the finer points of playing his position.
“He’s done a good job using his hands, playing with good pad level, doing the things that we’ve asked him to do,” Williams said. “So, we’re excited about him going forward.”
Or whatever direction he needs to go to get to the ball.
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