Big Red Diary: Marcel Jones

Life in the Red
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By BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star

Marcel Jones is a 6-foot-7, 310-pound sophomore from Phoenix. An offensive tackle, Jones played in all 13 games last season, starting one, and will likely be in the starting lineup Saturday when Nebraska opens against Florida Atlantic. Jones mostly plays on the right side but is a “swing” tackle, meaning he’ll back up Mike Smith on the left side.

Jones visited Tuesday with the Journal Star’s Brian Rosenthal.

“I kind of prefer the right side, but if I have to play the other side to help the team out, then yeah, I’ll do that. The right side is just natural. I’m a right-handed man, and it’s easy to get in a right-handed stance. It just feels a little more comfortable. I think the offensive line is going to be pretty good. We’ve got a pretty experienced center (Jacob Hickman). He makes all the right calls, rallies us a lot. We’ve got some good experience on the left side, and some good youth on the right, so I think we should have a pretty good line.”

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Marcel Jones (Jacob Hannah / Lincoln Journal Star)

Marcel Jones (Jacob Hannah / Lincoln Journal Star)

(At this point in the conversation, freshman running back Rex Burkhead walks by, smiles and nods.)

“That guy’s pretty good. He’s going to be a player. He’s just got everything. He’s got the natural ability on the field and he’s a great guy off the field. That’s usually a recipe for success. He’ll probably be more of an elusive type of runner. He’s kind of small, he’s really quick. He makes really quick cuts. He’s got pretty good vision, which is only going to get better in time. He doesn’t have the size to just run people over and bruise them, but he can still lower his head and deliver a pop if he needs to.

“Ricky Henry, if we’re talking about the same Ricky, I’m pretty sure the things you’ve heard are true. He’s an aggressive guy. He just comes off the ball with such intensity and such passion. All he wants to do is just drive the guy in front of him off the ball and just finish him. He’s great. He’s got a tenacious attitude. He’s a really great guy to play next to.

“The biggest adjustment (coming to Nebraska) was getting used to the cold. I’m still trying to get over that one. What was cold to me was a cool, 55-degree night with no wind chill. That was cold to me. I’d go outside, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is a little bit chilly, I’m going to go get a thin sweater.’ Put that on, and I’m good. I could still wear shorts. Now, cold to me is below zero with the wind chill making it even colder. That’s quite a jump.

“Outside of football and school, that doesn’t leave a lot of time to do much. I guess my favorite hobby would just be sleeping and resting, because we work a lot on the field, and we work a lot in the weight room. The time we do have, we’ve got to use that for homework and things like that. Maybe go to a movie or two, or hang out with friends, but mostly just hang out at home and chill.

“My hair, it’s not too much work. Just a quick pick-out, shape it up and pad it down. I love the hair. I’ve had it this way since high school. I don’t get it cut too often. My ‘fro, I keep it pretty much this length and I just shape it however I want it. If I want it a little tighter, I’ll just pack it a little tighter. On game day there’s not much you can do. You shove it down and lock it up.

“I’m not a big ritual type of guy on game day. My main thing is I’ll just go out there, and a lot of coaches tell you to visualize what you’re going to do. Well, I actually do that. It actually helps a lot. I’m not a big rah-rah type of guy. I don’t really listen to a lot of music or nothing before the game. But I’ll get away to myself for a little bit, zero in and get in my zone and prepare for game day.”