After years at safety, position switch paying off for K-State defender Wayne Jones
Kansas State linebacker Daniel Green only had one question for Wayne Jones when he joined his position group this spring after previously playing safety for the Wildcats.
What took you so long?
“He should’ve been there the whole time,” Green said of his new running mate. “He’s a great football player in the box. Playing strong safety, it’s not a big difference. The only big difference was his responsibilities pass coverage wise. His run fits and stuff like that, he was a lot of times in the box just like us. It wasn’t a big jump for him to come down an extra five or six yards and come play with us.”
Many are interested to see what Jones can accomplish at his new position next season. His career seemed full of promise when he started all 13 games and made 57 tackles for the Wildcats as a redshirt freshman two years ago. But then his playing time evaporated last season. He started the first game at safety against Arkansas State, suffered a scary injury and then didn’t make another start until late in the year against Iowa State when he resurfaced at nickelback.
Otherwise, he was hit or miss. His season ended with just 24 tackles.
Perhaps he can regain his freshman form, or even improve on it, at his new position. His coaches are confident that will happen. It’s why they approached him about playing closer to the line of scrimmage during the winter.
“One of the things Wayne struggled with as a safety was tackling in space,” K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. “It was never his deal. We moved him into a spot a lot of times at safety that would bring him into the box and to be part of the box fit. We always felt like he had a really good feel for that. He had really good footwork and was able to keep himself square and make tackles in close quarters and be physical and get off blocks and be slippery in there. When we backed him up, there were times where he struggled to make some of those plays.”
His body also seems more naturally built for linebacker than safety. The 6-foot defender from Owasso, Oklahoma stopped trying to keep his weight down during the offseason and he managed to add 15 pounds of muscle in a matter of months.
Eating chicken and broccoli all the time, and avoiding bread, has been one of Jones’ few complaints throughout this process.
“I definitely had to change up my diet, because I like to eat,” Jones said. “But not all food is good when you are trying to gain weight. So cleaning up my diet was probably the biggest part I had to focus on.”
Other than that, he didn’t have any hesitations about switching positions.
“I was excited and just blessed with another opportunity to expand on what I can do as a player,” Jones said. “I’m really excited about being in the box. I’m comfortable down there and I feel like it’s a good fit. I like the physical part about it. Being in the trenches and seeing what those guys are doing every play. I just love the contact and things like that.”
If Jones can contribute at linebacker next season, he will provide a big boost to K-State’s defense.
The Wildcats need new blood at the position after they lost longtime starters Justin Hughes and Elijah Sullivan. K-State coaches have confidence in Cody Fletcher and Green, but they also like to rotate between as many as six linebackers in games to keep them all fresh. That means the Wildcats need someone to step up and provide depth at the position.
Jones has only been practicing there for a few weeks, but he already seems capable of doing exactly that.
“He’s a phenomenal communicator,” Klanderman said. “He gets things orchestrated and aligned in there. He’s able to control the defensive line with some of his communication, so it’s been a good move for him. He’s had a good spring.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 1:16 PM with the headline "After years at safety, position switch paying off for K-State defender Wayne Jones."