Dawand Jones' Newfound Love Of Football Helping Him Emerge Along Ohio State Offensive Line

"I didn’t love football going into college. It grew on me, and it's just become my life now."

Entering fall camp, it was widely presumed that Ohio State’s offensive line would be bookended by fifth-year senior Thayer Munford and junior Nicholas Petit-Frere at left and right tackle, respectively.

Tuesday’s practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center – which was the first in full pads – revealed a different lineup, however, with Petit-Frere at left tackle, Munford at left guard, junior Harry Miller at center, sophomore Paris Johnson at right guard and junior Dawand Jones at right tackle.

“It’s absolutely something we’re looking at,” offensive line coach Greg Studrawa said after practice. “As always, it’s find the best five (players). Year-in and year-out, you want to find the guys who are the best five for that spot and the best guys who are going to gel to make a great unit. It’s not about three or four guys. It’s about five guys. So, yeah, that’s absolutely a possibility.”

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The biggest reason for the new alignment, whether it’s just an experiment or something more permanent, is Jones’ progress from a three-star prospect whose first love was basketball to someone who is serious about becoming the best football player he can be.

“His development has been unbelievable,” Studrawa said. “It’s like anything else with linemen, it’s maturity. You go through recruiting and you recruit a guy like that, that has the enthusiasm to get where he wants to be, and Dawand has always had that. His athleticism is incredible. His attention to detail and learning football has always been the issue.”

“He was a basketball guy, so it’s taken some time to develop that. Now, his attention span is different, his attention to detail is different, his want to be great in football is totally different. A guy that’s that big and athletic and physical and coming on? How do you not find a place for that guy to play?”

The 6-foot-8 and 360-pound Jones, a former three-star prospect from Indianapolis, admitted he didn’t love football in high school. And who could blame him? He was a towering figure who averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game on the hardwood.

But Jones, who picked Ohio State over the likes of Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and USC during the 2019 recruiting cycle, also realized that he had a greater future in football rather than in basketball, where he held only a handful of offers from Mid-American Conference schools and the like.

Denny Simmons/Courier & Press

“I would say it grew on me, for sure. It had to,” Jones said. “I’m not going to disclose the name, but coaches, they wanted me to say I love football. I couldn’t tell them that because I would be lying. And I mean, at the time, I didn’t love football going into college. It grew on me, and it's just become my life now.”

That fact has become apparent to Studrawa and the rest of Ohio State’s staff, hence the reshuffled offensive line.

“Nothing changed except Dawand’s development, his summer of dedication, how he’s worked, how he’s moving and what he’s done out here,” Studrawa said. “I mean it, when he sets in pass pro, believe me, there’s nobody going around him. And they’re not going through.

“We have the best pass rushers in America that we go against every day. That’s how I judge it. If we’re sitting there and we’re blocking those guys, I’m not worried about any game we play. And Dawand, right now, has been dominant as a pass protector on that edge.”

Head coach Ryan Day basically said the same thing during his media availability on Monday.

“He’s grown a lot in three years. I think he was a basketball player trying to figure out how to play football,” Day said. “I kind of laugh sometimes and say he’s the largest skill player of all time. But he’s done a really good job in the offseason of being serious and coming to work every day, and now in the first five practices, he’s flashed. 

"Several of the offensive linemen have come up to me and said Dawand has done a really good job in his approach.”

Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network

Jones has appeared in 17 games to this point in his career, including his first start in the 52-12 win over Michigan State in November when the Buckeyes were missing several players due to a coronavirus outbreak within the program. He’s now ready to take that next step and become an important piece of the Buckeyes’ offense.

“I will say it’s just consistency and just staying on my grind,” Jones said. “I worked with (strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti) all spring and summer, and I feel like that was a big priority going into this fall camp getting my body right. Getting my conditioning, being strong enough and just being able to do the same thing over and over and over again.

“I feel like it was just time, right? It just clicked. I was just like, ‘I just can’t keep sitting around and just keep waiting.’ I just have to go get it and attack every day like it’s my last day.”

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