There have been plenty of wide receivers who have made position changes in college to defense and have gone on to have highly successful careers.
Caleb Farley started out his collegiate career at CB, but then moved to WR before suffering a season-ending injury prior to his freshman season that would then be followed by a move to CB on his way to becoming a first round draft pick. Divine Deablo arrived at Virginia Tech as a wide receiver but moved to DB after just over a season on offense and now is thriving in the NFL. Keli Lawson surprisingly started out at WR before moving back to LB prior to last season with Lawson now on track to be a star for the Hokies’ 2023 defense.
Jaylen Jones is looking to follow in those footsteps and be the next Hokie WR to make a successful transition to defense after offense proved not to be the right fit for one reason or another. While it’s early in fall camp, Jones’ spring move to safety is showing signs of paying off.
The Richmond native is currently receiving second team reps at safety putting him in line to potentially compete for a starting job in 2024. He’s also impressing the coaches early on in fall camp earning Tech’s Player of the Day honors after the first practice of fall camp.
So what has Jones done so far to impress Virginia Tech’s coaching staff? Here’s what Brent Pry had to say.
“He’s trended ever since we moved him. He had a couple of injury setbacks that kind of kept him from progressing like I think he could’ve, but he had a great break on the ball yesterday and got his hands on it. I mean good body position, good instincts. He didn’t catch the ball — I felt he should’ve. I told him that’s why he moved to DB. But he’s doing some good things. The more and more he reps, the more and more we notice him,” Pry said.
Teammate Nasir Peoples added this on the skill set that Jaylen Jones brings to the table in part noting the football IQ that is helping Jones transition smoothly to safety.
“As a receiver, he has good ball skills, that’s a big thing,” Peoples said. “He’s a hard-working guy. He knows everything he needs to know assignment-wise so it’s just about him putting it on the field.”
Of course, a position change isn’t always simple with Peoples being a little surprised at how well Jones has picked up his new position while also noting the things that have helped make this a smooth transition for the Richmond native.
“It kind of did (surprise me), but he thinks of it as a receiver, and I think that’s helped him out a lot. So as we were seeing him the first couple days in spring ball, I knew he would fit right in,” Peoples said.
That quality fit part goes beyond the athletic skills that Jones brings to the table, but also into his character, work ethic, and what he does off the field.
“High effort (type of player), he knows what he’s doing. He’s out there energetic, high effort. He’s going to watch a lot of film. We watch film a lot of times. So just somebody who is a student of the game who wants to get better and wants to be great,” Jones said.
There’s still plenty of work ahead for Jaylen Jones to improve at safety and eventually become a starter for the Hokies. However, early signs are that he is adapting well to his new position, and has the potential and work ethic to make safety the perfect fit for him in Blacksburg.
