Andrean junior Gavin Jones has adjusted to this whole defense thing.
Jones hadn’t played on that side of the ball until securing a starting role at cornerback last season. He grew up as a running back in Pop Warner before shifting to wide receiver in seventh grade.
“Last year was my first time at corner ever, my first time on defense ever,” he said. “It was a really big experience for me. I didn’t know much at all. After losing sectionals, just throughout the whole year, I was studying and learning and knowing more about coverages and everything about the position.”
Jones’ preparation has paid dividends. The 6-foot, 160-pounder is a lockdown defensive back for the 59ers (8-4), who will travel to Lafayette Central Catholic (12-0) for a Class 2A regional Friday night. He has 23 tackles and three interceptions, tied for the team lead with star senior safety Jimmy Finley, after he recorded 15 tackles last season.
“Gavin has really come into his own this year,” Andrean coach Chris Skinner said. “He’s made a lot of progress. He’s taken to coaching well.
“As a sophomore last year, he was still learning, like many sophomores are. But he had a good year last year. But he definitely wasn’t the type of playmaker he’s been this year and hasn’t had the responsibility last year that he does this year.”
Jones’ contributions extend beyond the numbers.
“You look at his stats, and it’s like, ‘Well, you’re not making tackles because you’re a cornerback just covering guys and they’re not catching the ball,’” Skinner said. “He has three interceptions, but he has a lot of contested passes that don’t show up in the stat book as a pass defended or an interception. But his coverage was good.
“It’s made our defense better. What he does and what we ask him to do allows a lot of other guys to have more freedom and be playmakers.”
Indeed, Skinner said the 59ers “tweaked” their defense entering this season to feature their three-year starting safeties, Northern Illinois recruit Finley and senior standout Jayden Holmes, who also has Division I offers.
“We wanted to keep them in the middle of the field as close to the action as much as possible, and if we want to do that, that means our cornerbacks are going to be on an island a lot,” Skinner said. “This is not something we’ve traditionally done in the past, and it puts a lot of pressure on them to go one on one with the receiver.
“And Gavin is just somebody who has really dedicated himself to bettering his technique all the time. The results have shown. He’s been matched up against some very good receivers this year, and he’s showed well for himself.”
Jones gives the 59ers options on defense.
“Him having success has allowed Jimmy and Jayden to be involved in the middle a lot more and let those guys be playmakers, play the run game, play the pass game,” Skinner said. “Exactly what we ask Jimmy and Jayden to do depends each week on who we’re playing and what they want to do. But the point is Gavin’s development at corner has allowed us to be versatile with those guys.”
Jones, who also has three catches for 13 yards as a receiver on rare occasions, has been diligent to reach this level.
“Freshman year, I didn’t play defense at all,” he said. “I was an offensive specialist. A lot of my coaches wanted me to switch, but I wasn’t really thinking about it until last year. We lost a couple of guys, so it kind of threw me into the position even though I didn’t really want to be.
“I had not the best year, did OK, so going into this year, I had to work really hard to show myself and learn a lot more about DB.”
Jones has embraced the elevated challenge this season.
“Last year our corners really didn’t press at all,” he said. “This summer, I learned how to press and the keys to having patience while pressing. I know more about what all of the defense does, the linebackers and the linemen.
“The safeties have more of a free role, and the corners are really solo for most of the time. That’s just more of the trust the coaches put in us.”
Finley appreciates Jones’ efforts.
“He’s one of those guys you’re fine with, you don’t have to worry about,” Finley said. “He’s always on an island by himself in the boundary. Having him in the boundary just helps us out because you don’t have to worry about the receiver on that side.
“Seeing the progress he’s made from last season, it’s just great. Last season, he wasn’t the best, but he was just new to the position also. Now he’s gotten the hang of it, he knows what he’s doing and he’s really good at what he does.”
Jones’ brothers Daryl and Micah are Andrean alumni. Daryl Jones played basketball and graduated in 2018. Micah Jones played football and basketball and graduated in the spring. After transferring from Bishop Noll, Micah Jones started at slot receiver as a junior on the 59ers’ state runner-up team in 2022 and also rotated at cornerback last season.
“It was really great being able to play with him last year,” Gavin Jones said of Micah. “He played receiver and got in a little bit at corner, so it was really special being able to be on the field with him at the same time. We never really got to do that when we were younger because of the age difference.”
This season has been the time to shine for Gavin Jones, who also plays basketball and competes in track and field.
“It’s really good because freshman year we were in this position (in regionals), but I didn’t play,” he said. “It’s a really big opportunity to show what I’m about, especially against a pass-heavy team.”